It's good that more folks are now at least talking about adapting to climate change instead of just flat out denying it. Whether you believe that climate change is man-made (or man-assisted) or simply just a natural cycle, the fact of the matter it is happening, it will affect us in our lifetimes, and we need to adapt as best we can.

If it is man-made/assisted, then we need to address the root cause AND also work on adaptation measures. Americans need jobs. And there are PLENTY of jobs to be created in addressing climate change.

The scientists pulling out ice core samples and talking about "the previous climate event' aren't blaming the wooly mammoths and their factories...

Probably a good first step would be to re-instate the terms "global warming" and "climate change" back into the Republican dictionary.

The problem with the global warming/climate change theory is that nothing REALISTICALLY can be done about it. The will isn't there, let alone the money.

The will isn't there because the Koch folk have dumped so much money into their demagoguery, too many people are of the intelligence level to listen to Limbaugh, etc. etc.

There was the Lady living on NEPTUNE STREET,Staten Island, directly across from the beach, .....the one who was screaming that she had NO FLOOD INSURANCE and was furious that two days after the storm.... she wasn't getting enough Red Cross help.

Is the solution MORE RED CROSS WORKERS ?

Is the solution MORE FEMA ?

Is the solution careful consideration before rebuilding on NEPTUNE STREET (which has a HISTORY of flooding) ? ? ? ? ?

"If we had such barriers in place during Hurricane Sandy there would have been no damage at all," Bowman said.

Yeah cuz the wave barriers would have blocked the 80mph+ winds and all the rain, right? What a MORON.

Well said.. I'm a NYC resident, but have only lived here for 5 years. I'm pretty cynical about the current natural events, because I've lived in numerous places where these events are a regular occurence with more intensity(snow storms in the Mid-West/earth quakes in CA/hurricanes in the Caribbean). Regardless, life moves forward. The way NYC has been dealing with it cracks me up. Last year- a little snow and every thing shuts down in this northern city. This year- a hurricane and the whole city is devastated.

The real problem is that NYC doesn't have the infrastructure for naturally occuring events. I believe that global warming is a natural cycle, although human activities have enhanced it. It's just time to co-exist with nature and adapt.

With that said; build a fricken dam or something. Learn from other cities that deal with these events on a regular basis. They're talking about an attractive storm surge barrier. LOL. The sea levels will continue to rise and that little project will be a waste of money. Just another attempt to have some wonder that tourists can take pictures of. It's time that those governing this area prioritize public safety over making their money.

Whether you believe in GW or not, this was NOT a GW or CC event. Even CC scientists say that! It was a rare confluence of a late summer storm colliding with an early winter storm. It's a rare event but there are always probabilities the two will occasionally overlap, it's happened before and will happen again.

There isn't even consensus amongst CC scientists over whether GW will usher in more of less violent storms. As usual, when fear mongering is attached to CC, follow the money.

Blackandgold--AMEN--and while we are at it, yet ANOTHER federal Agency that needs to be dumped is the Corps of Engineers--half the damage done during Katrina could directly be attributable to the Corps's dredging straight channels to make it easier for BARGES to have an easier and more profitable path to the port of New Orleans, while DRAINING all the marshes, bayous, etc. they could.

The Corps also made the 'wise' decision last year to BLOW a levee in Missouri, flooding productive farmland, to protect N. Orleans from flooding. They also some years ago, during a time of drought, particularly in and along the flood plain of the Missouri River, chose to protect barge traffic further down river while DEVASTATING the tourism industry(at a much greater $$$ amount of loss, in the states at the UPPER end of the Missouri by continually letting out more water from dams there than rainfall could replace.

Once again, when you get the GOVERNMENT involved in something, efficiency is not criteria, but favoritism sure is.

Global warming is here, it is now getting worse for all. Plant more trees, switch to environmentally neutral products, clean technology for manufacturing, non polluting transportation, non toxic buildings, etc. The planet is slowly getting polluted by how we manipulated naturally occurring elements into products of our addiction. Let's make items that are environmentally neutral. Too much polluting by everyone, it is all over the planet. Develop jobs specifically designed to clean the world, and have everyone pay for it. It will be job creation, have the UN tax all nations, use the funds to pay employees that have been verified that they can clean up our planet.

For the last hundred years or so, we've been producing a lot of power with coal, which creates toxic emissions, power plants, factories, steel mills, car emissions, etc. Continous pollution for a hundred years, getting worse every day. Yes, we've weakened and warmed our atmosphere. Green measures can reverse our negative impact.

No they can't Wayne...prove it.

pullmyfinger13

"If we had such barriers in place during Hurricane Sandy there would have been no damage at all," Bowman said.

Yeah cuz the wave barriers would have blocked the 80mph+ winds and all the rain, right? What a MORON.

No it wouldn't have stopped the wind or rain, although the many skyscrapers would have disrupted the winds making them less damaging.

It would have blocked the storm surge which is responsible for most of the damage and death.

Global warming is propaganda to support the carbon tax initiate dreamed up by Al Gore.. It is amazing that all these so called experts ignore things like the study about undersea volcanic vents heating the oceans.. Do a search for {hydrothermal vents and ElNino} you will be amazed at what research the government has been suppressing.. Imagine what happens when an oil or coal field is subducted into the Moho or Mantle and burned releasing all that CO2 in one massive event.. Or the huge amounts of CO2 in solid form at the bottom of the ocean that is being subducted along the Marianas trench area..

It was and is STUPID to build in an area prone to storm surge, that is a swamp, is below sea level, in a rivers flood plane and so on.. Holding back trillions of tons of water is a pipe dream and when the billions in its infrastructure are destroyed that will just add to the cost of the damage..

Valhalia,

when fear mongering is attached to CC, follow the money

I did, and it led to the highly paid demagogues like Limbaugh and the Koch supported anti-global warming groups. Now that begs the question........why?

Roadrunner,

Ask the global warming scientists in other parts of the world who are ever bit as concerned as ours are about global warming what they think about Al Gore and their response will be, "Who the f__k is he?"

Doubt that you will even be able to understand just what that means.

Seems that mother nature always trumps mans efforts to do whatever. Can anyone give an example of any structure that hasn't fallen victim to some extent to the vagaries of nature? Now NY thinks it can?? I wonder what the excuse will be the next time a major hurricane inundates New Orleans or devastates some other coastal town?

Mother Nature is God.

By the way, I hope the people who are suffering at the moment keep their ears closed today. Obama spent his day today golfing. Carry on.

NYC should just take two steps back from the curb!

Wow since Coumo said it it must be right. When I was young my family spent time in NYC. During the 50's I remember 3 major named hurricanes that came through the area. Back then they explained the it happened because the Pacific was cooler then the Atlantic. When this phenomenon happens the hurricanes move up the Atlantic seaboard. Guess what, we have the same weather pattern again. What a freaken surprise. Weather acting like weather.

Look guys reducing carbon emissions is important be it is not always the answer to everything. Do us a favor and tell your politicians to get the hell out of weather forecasting.

The answer to this is so simple. In construction there is a saying,"you don't have time to do it right the first time, but you always have time to come back and fix it". Before 9/11 the airlines didn't have enough money to strengthen their cockpit doors. After 9/11, and losing billions of dollars, they found the money.

All you have to do is add up the amount of money this storm cost, in damage, in lost wages, lost production, lost time, lost lives. Next, double that figure because nothing will get done after this storm, take all that money and see what protective measures that can be built before the third storm, then ask yourself if it's worth it.

Let's see now. Tunnels under rivers connecting an island to the mainland at the edge of the ocean got flooded as did houses and businesses built a few feet from the normal high tide mark. And we are surprised?

Maybe, just maybe, building a major city that close to the edge of the ocean at such a low elevation was not such a great idea afterall. How much are we willing to spend trying to make a bad idea work is the real issue.

You nailed the real issue, Glenn. If government wants to do something constructive, it will ban rebuilding in a flood/storm surge plain. If it wants to do something really constructive, it'll ban occupied structures closer to the coast than 50 miles, or less than 150 feet above MSL. At the stroke of a pen that would solve all of these ocean storm whines.

I practice what I preach. I live 1280 feet above MSL and 400 miles from the coast. I simply don't have to care about ocean storms.

let mother nature flood it & take back that"reclaimed land" the finacial market sucks anyway,like how it put the "liquidity"back in the markets,literally!

Move. To higher ground. Too late? Stay. See it happen again.

Everybody in New York, resettle in Minnesota...problem solved. What a bunch of egotistical maniacs, thinking they can control the weather.....pathetic!

Man can not control the weather.

Not the human race. Just the soon to be extinct greedy Americans.

You're forgetting the Chinese, the Russians, the Indians, not to mention all those Eastern European and Southeast Asian nations.

Particularly in America, people tend to REACT to emergencies better than PREVENTING them. Example: Who took terrorism and airline safety seriously before 9/11? Who took the vulnerabilities of New Orleans seriously before Katrina? And now, a storm has impacted New York City, and while it was known for years that this could happen, nobody did anything about it.

Why is this? Mostly the politics of government spending. If 10 years ago, Rudy Giuliani had proposed a $1,000,000,000 project to fortify New York City from hurricanes, including sea walls and wetlands, he would have been laughed out of the state for "trying to waste taxpayer money on a cockamamie project for something that will never happen". However, NOW people would support such a plan without question.

Gee where is FEMA housing? Where are the FEMA generators? Where is the media blaming Bush, I mean Obama for lack of response? And to the man-made global warming believers, who caused the mile plus deep glaciers disappearance????

Blaming Obama goes against their religion and their leader. However, the president really can do very little and as for FEMA, it has always been more about the perception of disaster relief, not actual timely relief. When you take a hit like Sandy delivered, and then you compound the situation with the bumblings of elected officialdom, you end up with programs that extend the misery.

Take the gas shortage for example. There is a shortage due to no power at gas stations and shortages of gas. The government responded by managing the length of the lines. If government would just get the hell out of the way and let it be known that if a business had to spend more money to get product from outside the area, or had to spend money to fly in generators and hook them up to pump gas at a station with no power, and that if you did this you could raise your prices, then generators and gas would flow. But no, the policies of the government to date have simply made certain that you don't get charged a higher price for the gas you can't buy. This is success in government.

Another glaring example as to how stupid some of these officials are is the statement by the idiot governor of NY chastising the power companies for running our of poles. "How can you run out of poles ?" he demanded. Well gov, if you normally use about 3,000 poles a month and you suddenly need 100,000 as an example, then you are out of poles. Do you expent the power companies to stock enough poles to rebuild the entire system all the time? Well, I guess an idiot like the gov does. But any one that understands the cost of capital and inventory management would not ever stock that many poles.

Just two examples. There are so many more. Sandy looks more an more like Katrina because you have the same idiots in charge. If you think government is the answer, well then you should think the response after Katrina and Sandy are just fine because in both cases, the government has done the best it knows how to do. And that is the problem in a nut shell.

The US government has been hundreds of millions strengthening flood defenses for New Orleans.

But nobody is rebuilding the businesses that are there,and they won't, and they shouldn't. Building below sea level is an engineering disaster. They didn't know that the first time they built that city, apparently...

I don't know about businesses. I haven't been there. But, homes are being rebuilt and occupied, even in the infamous Ninth Ward. And, where people are, businesses follow.

zero -

Not all of the New Orleans area is below sea level. And much of the area has been rebuilt, just not in the lower 9th Ward area (the lowest and poorest part of New Orleans). The problems with the levees failing was found to be due to the corruption within the various levee boards who allowed the levees to be built substandard to the engineering specs. In otherwords, politics caused the levee failures.

Tammy-311614

Not to mention they were only built to handle a cat 3 storm, kinda like buying a Hummer when you need a high mileage car, just plain stupid.

I'm a land surveyor that, for the past three and a half years, has worked for a national firm. I've been to 45 states in that time. The nature of my job has changed. I'm now the bringer of death. Employees ask me why I'm surveying the property, I lie to them. I tell them it's for refinancing, or insurance. They are moving and closing. I can't get a break. When I was hired it was supposed to be ten days on, four days off....I just finished a 17 day shift. All I do is close businesses. I'm off to Boston on Monday. At least I feel better doing it in places that voted for 4 more years of this....

Maldive Islands?

Agreed, The man in this article denounces engineers yet knows nothing about city planning.

Or better yet, you can keep gnashing your teeth and getting pissed off about "liberals".

It's comforting to think of you suffering your guts out for the next 4 years, then finally shooting yourself when Hillary becomes president in 2016.

Ah, your bitterness is so sweet!

Navy Vet-what a riot you are, its just like idiots like you that think this is only for NY,why not drain the Ocean? its too late people,global warmings just warming up,and the first warning the scientists that you have dissed for decades said ''people living on the coast will have to move''.and this hurricane was peanuts,wait till a category 3 or more rolls up the coast,in other words,you aint seen nothing yet.

Well, the scientists also warned in early 1970s that a new Ice Age is approaching fast and look were we are.

What -god said.

Not rebuilding would be fine. Just remember it is wall street income that is providing a lot of funding (think income tax dollars) into the rest of the state. Do away with the wall street income tax dollars and the state would have hardly any income at all.

I got an idea...let the city wash away..its nothing but a burden on the rest of new yor state..and the nation

A burden? New York State is a net contributor to the federal budget, and NYC is a net contributor to the NYS budget. It could be an even greater contributor if taxes were raised on the wealthy.

We use to say this when I was growing up in the 1950's. Let that whole area float off into the ocean, good riddance. Just think it would take the UN with it, now that would be an improvement for the entire world.

Navy- you simply sound as ignorant as a liberal- nto everyone in NY is liberal and actually I was surprised Romney got 36% here- yeah we should let NY the economic hub of the country and world wash away. Yikes how big is your trailer? And yes I am ANTI OBAMA on every level but your comment is as stupid as someone from CA.

@ Barry- A burden? New York State is a net contributor to the federal budget, and NYC is a net contributor to the NYS budget. It could be an even greater contributor if taxes were raised on the wealthy.

Raise the taxes on the rich- are you as dumb as you sound? City and state taxes over 10% on top of now what looks like 40% federal. So I guess 50% for the people that actually do work is not enough? The highest taxes and you think its not enough? I guess that is not a fair share......Wow is all I can say. Screw you.

yoma ma- you are a c*nt! Increase taxes on the top 1%, they can more than afford it. Increase taxes on people who earn more than $250,000, the president is willing to accept a tax increase for himself, what makes the other c*nts like you, any different? Dumb*ss.

So I guess 50% for the people that actually do work is not enough?

Raising taxes on people making more than $250K a year is not going to increase the unemployment rate. Businesses do not hire or fire based on tax rates ... they make their decisions on the demand for their products or services. Raising taxes on 1% of the population is not going to affect consumer demand for anything except, perhaps, the most high-end luxury products.

Anglo, more research and less commenting. The wealthy are the producers you work for and buy from. They will keep raising your prices to compensate for what little the gov't lets them keep as the top taxpayers, or simply move more of their jobs offshore - you'd do the same if you had a brain. The president has never had a "real" job, so he has no idea what he's talking about. The Dumb*ss is the person who thinks the corporations and industry pay any taxes at all. What were you paying for a gallon of gas four years ago? This is why we have four more years of The Golfer In Chief! BTW, NY can fix it's problems like other cities: GET A REPUBLICAN MAYOR.

Anglo--When you are finished calling others nasty words, you might look in the mirror. St. Louis City, in the middle of last century (1900's) was crime ridden, and had a huge city income tax, and the so called RICH picked up stakes and moved 20 miles out and FOUNDED a new 'city'. Now St. Louis City can barely even be CALLED that (a city) while CLAYTON MO is the booming economic hub.

You do know that the wealthy have the financial resources to pick up and RELOCATE, don't you?

As for your and Obama's notion that anyone who is making over $250K (and that is for a COUPLE) is RICH and not paying enough? Have you checked RENTS in most big cities? Utilities?

Meanwhile, how IS it that no one wants to make the ''47%" take ANY responsibilty of THEIR poor decision making. You want to talk GLOBAL WARMING? How about we talk OVERPOPULATION???

And sorry, ANY one who has a baby that they must depend on government AID to survive should NOT have had that baby. Doing so is, to me, tantamount to child abuse.

So until you quit rewarding those who make poor decisions about life vis a vis education (finishing! and working hard to actually LEARN rather than 'just passing') and irresponsible 'child bearing decisions' (Meaning, making NO decisions and just letting nature do her thing) and start showing them that the gravy train is NOT a right, you have no right to whimper about the wealthy.

And PS--I have an income of less than $50K per year and I PERSONALLY pay income taxes.

I didn't have babies I couldn't afford to feed, clothe, house, educate (thru college) and provide decent medical care for. WHY should I be forced to pay for those who were NOT responsible?

And before you say it, there ARE people in the so called '47%' who are handicapped, mentally or physically, or who are elderly (and as a 61 year old, I'm a LONG way from being 'elderly') who deserve the SS they get, and some of the other aid. NO one, however, has the right to have CHILDREN who is in that economic bracket--and especially not to expect others to pick up the tab.

tplife

What were you paying for a gallon of gas four years ago?

About what we are paying now give or take a few pennies, the real question is why did gas prices fall so dramatically right before the 2008 election? Oil men(republicans) trying to stay in power and manipulating prices. Plus the economy was in free fall.

Supply and demand, people got rid of gas guzzlers in favor of better mileage vehicles, and people just couldn't afford it so they didn't drive unnecessarily, since the demand dropped so did the price, if you think they sold gas at a loss, you are indeed naive. How is exxon mobil making record profits, overinflated pricing along with a lack of regulation, and the intentional closing of refineries along with their refusal to build new refineries. Claiming the new emission standards would make building new plants cost prohibitive is BS if you think they wouldn't pass on the additional cost to the consumer you are living in another reality. Increasing supply would ultimately reduce demand, prices and exorbitant profits.

MOmaid

Your are so right about how $250K for a couple is not really that rich, and I'm in no way close to that income bracket, but I can think.

That couple probably has a house payment that is $1000+, then there is the home owners insurance, property taxes and the house's upkeep including keeping a garden and the yard looking nice. Planting flowers is not exactly inexpensive no matter what Lowe's says. But they are also adding to the economy by buying these products for maintenance and property value. Hopefully their state uses the property taxes they pay wisely!

Next is their and their, lets say 2 kids health insurance, clothes for work and school. Since they are in a higher income they will spend more on clothes, get haircuts more often, take said clothes to the dry cleaners, which adds $ to the dry cleaners themselves.

This couple also will take everyone to the suggested 6mo. dental visits for everyone, and if the kids need braces they get them. Even the best insurance doesn't have the greatest dental plans, and most dentists do not take payments anymore. Anyone pay for a crown lately? I don't go to the dentist unless it is absolutely necessary, and then it's to the dental college nearby which has a wait lists. All of this adds money to economy.

If both of the kids need daycare, here in my area if you pay yourself without gov. help the average cost for one child is $400 per week! So with 2 kids $800 per week, $1200 per mo. A lot of people live on that themselves, but instead of getting pissy about that people don't stop and think that they are adding money to their community. If this couple is smart they are building up money for their retirement and if they are nice the give to charity.

I'm sure there are other things people can think of that this $250k couple will do that adds to the economy but hopefully, most will get the idea. They are comfortable but they are not rich. An income of $2mil in this day and age is at the low end of rich.

Tax this couple more and they will cut back on spending. Maybe instead of taking a vacation that requires flying and a week hotel stay, they'll stay closer to home, and cut out some of the attractions they would normally visit. It's time to think realistically about what wealthy is.

Tax this couple more and they will cut back on spending.

Yes, they probably will. But, how many couples are there making $250K+ a year vs. couples making under $100K, or even under $50K? Those are the ones that we need to protect because they drive the economy just by their sheers numbers. You can coddle the wealthy all you want, but they still will only buy so many cars, tvs, toasters, etc....

Of course we need to protect those income brackets, but my point is they ($250k) are not really that wealthy with all their expenditures. That info keeps coming from the government who don't live in the real world. Do you think Nancy Pelosi is worried about a tax increase? That $100's of million worth woman can definitely afford it. I'm sick of her squawking that the Repub's are rich when she is one of the top wealthiest in DC.

President Obama says he should pay more too. But he doesn't pay rent, or for housing insurance, or for food, most of Michelle's clothing are donations, or borrowed for the occasion. He doesn't pay for a car or it's insurance. So of course he can comfortably say in the words of Gray Fox from MGS,"Hurt me more". He might sing a different tune in 4yrs, but I think ex-prezs make an even better income out of office.

Eugene remember that Long Island has a very high water table. Moving all of the electric infrastructure under ground would only lead to worse problems. The real issue is most of the electric grid was installed in the 1940's and 1950's. The only upgrades and repairs that were do was to build more houses, and now they are cramming town houses in wha topen land is left adding more people but again no upgrades are being done. Alot of poles that are my neighborhood are over 60 years old. The wires are also that old. These poles are way past their useful life and are getting more attachments to them (think the addition of cablevision, fiber optic cables ets) putting more holes into the poles.

One of the ironies of being a late developing country is that they often have been technological infrastructure than the US. Today, we would never build an electric system or phone system like the ones that we have, but replacing them would be a huge expense for relatively minimal incremental improvement.

Barry,

Keen observation. These third world countries are building their infrastructures from scratch and have the intelligence to come in with the latest cutting edge technologies. They are not wasting their time and money trying to maintain an infrastructure designed and built back in the 50's and 60's. In many of these countries they have public works that would make us a little jealous.....if only we could yank out heads out of arses and take a look.

Third world countries ? Most of europe buries its power and phone cables under the streets and has done so since the victorian age. The only above ground cables are high volatage city to city transmission lines.

Even where I live out in the forest of the Pacific Northwest we have buried power. Water table is not an issue as the cable is obviously insulated. My power cable runs only a couple of feet below a winter stream on my property. The only power outage I get is when some idiot driver takes out a line pole carrying the high voltage lines on the main highway

The only problem with buried power is the up front cost. Last I heard it was $1 million a mile to upgrade, that really adds up. It is the way to go though.

Phil ... you hit it exactly with the cost issue. In my town, there are probably about 50 miles of roads, but only 3,000 homes. At a $1 million a mile, which is in line with other estimates that I've read, the cost of putting lines underground works out to almost $17K per household. Who is going to pick up that cost? Even if it were amortized over 30 years, that works out to an increase of $50/month in electric bills per family. And, we're still not protected from downed cross-country high-voltage transmission lines or systemwide failures. For a 1/3 of that, I could install an automatic backup generator.

However, I do think that underground lines should be mandatory for all new housing and business developments.

Valhalla Phil--sorry, but even tho we think of CA as being the state with all the earthquakes, places all over the country (even the NE, right when Sandy was happening, had an earthquake. It's not just the cost of installation that makes underground wires prohibitively expensive, it is ALSO the added cost of any repairs needed.

My neighborhood just tapped on to the county sewer system, and while they were digging up our yards to install the hookups, one thing that routinely was seen was PVC pipe that tree roots had BROKEN and invaded. And MY house is 'only' 30 years old.

And it's not just earthquakes, you know--the problem of shifting grounds exists around the country.

Ask the people in FL whose homes have dropped into sinkholes. TAKING WITH THEM the electrical wires.

It's called Extensive Pre-engineering studies. Then, and only then, is the money committed for the actual installations. Local developers up here in the upper NE NY have long ago reached the conclusion that underground is the only way to go. Granted, there are occasional violent acts of nature that contribute to failures, but after that '98 ice storm we had, ALL the engineers in this community came to the same conclusion.

We have been very lucky up here, as few actual real homes are built directly on the shores of Lake Champlain. Usually it's summer camps, and then the owner is responsible, instead of the taxpayers generally. If they've got the money for the camp, they can afford flood insurance, and will usually pay the extra for that.

The biggest problem is allocating funds for infrastructure routine maintenance. The politicians can't put their name on some 100 miles of power poles, or power lines, therefore no "name recognition in perpetuity." And the utility companies are being sold off to foreign investors interested in one thing only - PROFITS. Initially, rates go down, for maybe a year, then they start to creep up. While they're creeping up, number of employees is going down, less maintenance is being performed, fewer spare parts being bought, and more cash departing the U.S. for foreign banks. (I forgot to mention the state funds they get for their initial investments, in the form of tax incentives for hiring the fewer number of employees, actually just about fifty percent of the employees that were originally doing the work, or the biggest investors, foreign again, get "green cards" to get all the benefits of citizenship, without losing any of their original nationality. Some of the highest powered Capitol Hill senators are pushing this, and getting lots of campaign financing in return.)

Until people learn to move away from high risk areas, this is going to continue, regardless of what one thinks of either climate change or global warming. I've got another name for it - Very Irate Mother Earth. Earthquakes are on the rise, and people are ignorant enough to build in high risk areas, showing how stupid homo sapiens can be. Geothermal activity is rising, (check out Iceland over the last decade.) Look at the volcanic activity around the world.

Humans seem to have a very short memory, unlike most other animals, and almost no "ingrained memory." Yet we have the capabilities ot learn from our mistakes, and avoid repeating them. If the Dutch hadn't bought Manhattan from the Indians, (that knew a sucker when they saw one,) we wouldn't be having this discussion.

Whatever...

Any rise in sea levels will proceed at a snails pace, not at the speed nor to the extent that morbas is predicting. He is wrong when he says environmental laws would have controlled emissions, that is only wishful thinking. He is right that it is a global problem which is why nothing can be done about it with regulations and laws. The money ain't there, unless you tax the rich.

Relocation would be a good idea, as would building buffers/walls that would protect subways and underground utilities and infrastructure and moving important things above the first story. The pie in the sky dreams of wetlands, humongous gates, and monster seawalls is simply ridiculous.

moobuss, OBEE n' Co n' BIG BRO izz/can/gonna FIXXXX-it-fer yah yuno-it-2!!! Heeee said juss NOT right-now tho. Mevbbe 4 yrs frummm now AFTER 2016 LECTION is/gettz stolen too.

Morbas--perhaps BIRTH CONTROL should be encouraged.

I think you apply for that job at www.paidfordoing@!$%#.gov

What does a government employee and a lesbien have in common? Neither one will do d*ck.

IA Scooter Tramp--AMEN. My FAV was a study to determine how effective crossing ones legs to control the urge to PEE was.

Good for Women, not so hot for men.

I could have told them that for FREE.

HEEEEEY there ,,,, yu JOB IZZ taah jussss KEEEEP on feeding thaa KITTYEE - - - under the table tho.

Saavyee??? COMPRENDE, entiendo?

And when we are all piled up in Kansas........... ?????? And a super tornado blows through??????? Good plan: everyone moves into the middle of the lifeboat! But don't at least try to decrease the rate of global warming, as it is a huge waste of time and money. Get your huge Christmas display ready and use even more electricity, brought to you by the "clean coal" people! (For those of you who do not recognize it..... this is dripping in sarcasm.)

Tornadoes are a random event, there are odds as to where they will land. Living on the water is NOT a random event, you know EXACTLY where the water will land. Big difference. No need to flood Kansas, just move a mile inland.

So what are you doing to help Mark...other than sitting in front of your computer making snarky remarks.

I've been taking gas x to help with the methane gas problem in the atmosphere.

Thanks, that one made my day Cappy! :<O

Mark-sorry, but you DO know that there is a difference between 'lifting a finger to help' and having that finger ripped off because you have 10 of them and that's not fair?

In MO we have a passel of big rivers (not JUST the Mississippi and the Missouri) and in my lifetime, we QUIT rewarding people who got flooded out every ten years by giving them a choice: MOVE to higher ground, or you are on your OWN next time you flood. NO more federal or state 'bail outs'.

Funny--it did WORK.

But what if Kurt Russell (Snake Plisskin) helps them escape?

Take out his other eye before you build the wall; just give my family members a heads up though.

STAY THERE......

Where would the rotten apple put all of its garbage and where would NYC get its electricity, water, and gas?

uftameggunn-12.5 yr old, WOW are yu sikk???? GIRL or whuttttt sikkkk!!!

B/S in sd, >>> YU needa go bakkkk-2-schooll!!!! PUHLEEZE STUDY the 4 R;s this tyme!

So, what are those patent numbers?

trammmm-pleddd rosee 11, yur NUTS womannnn!!!

tr rose

please up grade to Reynolds wrap or a name brand tinfoil for your hat, the store brand isn't working well......

I hope they are viable. But then if they were, the government would have stolen.... I mean acquired it already.

TR, they are available on the Internet, please invest in one then get back to us on how wonderful they are.

For the uneducated idiots out there, all electricity is magnetically driven, from the generators that produce it to the transformers that deliver it.

P.S. There is no free lunch, patents only last a few years then by law they are open to the public, there is no perpetual motion machine. Sorry.

Don't let ANYONE $hit you that IT CAN'T BE DONE! The patents wouldn't be in our patent office if they weren't viable!

False. The patent office doesn't care about viability. They need proof that something works, but they don't require that it be economical or scalable.

If something really works, the Republicans and the oil companies can't stop it. The world is full of disruptive technologies that companies would have stopped if they could have.

dale, >>> YUR such a dummmmmmb-assssed idiot, tis un-freaking believable too. WHUT a dunce sir!!!!!

YU sounddddz like a politition, senatoor, congressmen-dipppp/stikk/etc, or perhapzz a Mhoooozzzzelllihmmmm CZAR!!!!! belonging to Muddeehiislmmz Yeeee-hawwwwwwdissst groupz inc.

Howz bou mebbe juss flippin yu MAGIC WAND (SWITCH — _AHA<HA<HA< HA hahahahahahahahahas sum mo ahahahahahahahahaha.)

I appreciate that Dale is at least thinking about the issue. Every major accomplishment in this world started with a seed idea from one person. Denk - what on earth is your problem that you would go so ballistic? Chill!!

DenKo: I also think that same idea could be applied to homes that are located in coastal areas, it would cost a little to install a system that would keep water out, but the damage could be minimised a lot, water tends to get inside of a building when there are ways for it to enter! If ten buildings had a system installed and ten did not, which of the ten do you think would have the most water damage?

Thaa meeeenz >>> NO MO WATURRFRONT propittttttieeees will be allowed in AZ!!!!! LIKE IT or NOTTTTTTTT!!!!! fo-shofo-sho-fo sho den!!!

It will and has happened to Chicago even with Chicago being built on top of swamp land what they do expect.

Most of the wiring in Manhattan is underground. It tends to be above ground in the outer boroughs. Putting existing wiring underground is very expensive. A few years ago, Brookline, MA (population about 60,000) looked at the idea and abandoned it when cost estimates came in at anywhere between $45 and $150 million. You can imagine what it would run in a larger city. Plus, when there are problems, they're more expensive and difficult to fix.

Gee...ya gotta blame someone or something don't ya.

Well, the first thing you realistically should do is start here....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost%E2%80%93benefit_analysis

You might as well use the Obama excuse that Bush was to blame

Rex ... thank you for pointing out that there are sometimes valid reasons why "stupid" situations exist. It is quite possible to construct buildings that can withstand the crash of an airliner, or electric systems that can handle a direct hit from a hurricane. But, the costs to do so are tremendous and no one lives in a world of unlimited resources. Trade-offs always have to be made.

New York City is home to 8 million people. It is one of the world's financial capitals, and it is this country's cultural and media center. Whether or not it should be where it is, it is not going anywhere now. Fault is beside the point.