Rail on guard: Metro-North prepares for threat of rising sea levels | Hacker News Reader

Rail on guard: Metro-North prepares for threat of rising sea levels

poughkeepsiejournal.com

26 pointsd0ugie14 comments

I grew up in the Hudson Valley -- this is truly one of the most beautiful stretches in the world. At points, you're essentially surrounded by the river on both sides.

I really think climate change needs to be presented to the public as an economic problem. Our infrastructure is going to continue to get hammered, costing billions, and we're essentially subsidizing it.

I really think climate change needs to be presented to the public as an economic problem.

Doesn't matter. If you don't think it's going to happen it doesn't matter what kind of problem it is...

Never doubt the American Public's capacity for believing in anything that comes directly out of their paycheck.

(But, yes -- it's a remarkably difficult sell, as we've seen.)

Prob is that waterfront real-estate in Westchester[1] is just white privledge. And all waterfronts are geologically (not climate-related) unstable. So basically rich white people want perpetual status-insurance. The climate angle is a red-herring.

The economic cost of natural disasters--NY, CA, and FL--is all related to RE development ("upscale") of unstable geography.

[1] Hudson Valley/Fairfield CT etc.

Interesting point. In California this issue exists with high-end real estate on mud-slide and fire-prone areas, like Malibu. Things that would make a difference, like controlled burns, are fought by homeowners who don't want to look at charred landscape -- and as a result the the LAFD spends enormous resources on heroic measures. [1]

1: http://books.google.com/books/about/Ecology_of_fear.html?id=...

The cost of building and maintaining a 2.5 foot wall next to the entire rail line is likely a rounding error compared to the cost of upkeep of the rail line and trains. In other words, trivial sea level rise is a non-issue economically.

To me the bigger issue is wetland loss since flood walls will likely prevent the replacement of higher-elevation wetlands.

Lots and lots of wells are going to turn into saltwater in low areas. Florida is going to have a lot of trouble with this.

> When these points fail, Metro-North — the nation's largest commuter railroad with 280,000 daily passengers — is completely cut off from Manhattan.

It's the nation's second largest when going by ridership (the number cited) to the LIRR with 334,000 passengers[0]. Both the LIRR and Metro-North are commuter rail systems for New York and are both MTA-owned/-operated, along with the subway, bus[1], etc.

The MTA is launching a $120 million project to "storm-proof" the Long Beach branch of the LIRR this year (among a myriad of other plans).[2]

[0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_commuter_...

[1] Except out in the 'burbs, our buses got spun off and privatized somewhat recently

[2] http://www.thelirrtoday.com/2014/04/storm-proofing-long-beac...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_rapid_tra...

#1 and #2 spots differences in ridership..? Is that a typo?

I don't think so - NYC is just that busy of a city.

Amtrak also rides those rails, which I believe are a connecting point to the entire north east above New York City.

Correct, e.g., NY <-> BOS. Amtrak also owns the tunnels under the east river that LIRR trains go through. Any problems there and the MTA likes to blame (sometimes rightfully so) Amtrak.

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=resources/traffic&...

I wonder how many climate-changer denier politicans will attempt to legislate to prevent Metro-North from considering climate change in their future planning - the same way NC did that:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/north-carolina-bans-latest-science-...

Well, you may ignore the science, but you can't ignore effects it predicts.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com