Climate Change Requires Preparing for the Worst

A sign boasting of East Hampton Town’s goal of meeting all of its electricity needs with renewable sources by 2020, which was carried by an activist during Sunday’s climate march in New York City, drew lots of attention. And well it should have; moving away from fossil fuels is essential if human-induced global warming is to be slowed within our lifetimes. It is terrific that a local resolution to do better, albeit one with limited direct effect, could reach beyond East Hampton’s borders and, perhaps, influence other communities to take their own steps toward a positive power future.

By dint of its precarious location perched on the edge of the sea on nearly all sides, East Hampton and the rest of the East End should be at the forefront of preparing for one of the predicted effects of climate change — a rapidly rising ocean. This, it must be conceded, is far more difficult to achieve than declaring an electricity-supply goal, no matter how laudable that may be. Science’s best predictions suggest that global sea level will rise by two feet by the end of the century. However, regional variations due to geography, ocean circulation, and other factors mean that places like New York City and the East End may see even more ominous impacts.

Already, East Hampton Town officials, with help from the Nature Conservancy and the federal government, are beginning to acknowledge the scale of the risk by preparing to buy out property owners in a highly vulnerable section of Lazy Point in Amagansett. Sag Harbor Village recently imposed a moratorium on waterfront permit approvals, which, we hope, will give officials time to consider long-term implications of existing policies and to delineate areas where change is needed. Southampton Town expanded its comprehensive plan last year, adding a sustainability section that took a look at the potential impact of rising seas.

For all the talk, adopting real and meaningful policies has been lagging. Officials may chip around the edges of the problem with buyouts and building pauses, but a truly forward-looking response has yet to emerge. This is perhaps for fear of angering wealthy shoreline property owners or negatively affecting the lucrative tax base they represent. Worse, the agency at the very top of coastal policy, the Army Corps of Engineers, is hopelessly mired in a 50-plus-year study of the region and seems only able to offer retrograde solutions, such as dumping sand on threatened beaches or building seawalls.

As eastern Long Island begins to wonder how it can help reduce human influence on global climate, it must prepare for its effects. And, along the beaches, that means a sensible policy of retreat and relocation.