04/19/2007
Who’ll stop the rain?
That’s what state and city officials are wondering, as evidence shows that global warming may be responsible for stronger storms, heavier rainfall and larger floods in already flood-prone Southeast Queens.
“What we’re finding now are that these more intense downpours put a tax on the system that’s difficult to deal with,” said James Roberts, deputy commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. “We need to start to change our perspective on how we deal with this.”
Roberts was at York College in Jamaica last Friday to take part in an environmental summit sponsored by St. Albans Assemblyman William Scarborough. The summit covered everything from global warming to local issues like reducing pollution and protecting Queens’ remaining wetlands.
Yet as the weekend’s wild weather showed — nearly 8 inches of rain dumped in a single day on the city, the second largest deluge since record-keeping began — global and local environmental issues are growing more difficult to separate.
Scientists have long theorized that the human contribution of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere would result not only in higher temperatures, but in shifting rainfall patterns and stronger storms. While he was hesitant to definitively identify global warming as the root cause, Roberts said flooding events in Queens are already on the rise. “More frequent storms of higher intensity are responsible,” he said. “The trends are consistent.”
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Who’ll stop the rain?That’s what state and city officials are wondering, as evidence shows that global warming may be responsible for stronger storms, heavier rainfall and larger floods in already flood-prone Southeast Queens.
“What we’re finding now are that these more intense downpours put a tax on the system that’s difficult to deal with,” said James Roberts, deputy commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. “We need to start to change our perspective on how we deal with this.”
Roberts was at York College in Jamaica last Friday to take part in an environmental summit sponsored by St. Albans Assemblyman William Scarborough. The summit covered everything from global warming to local issues like reducing pollution and protecting Queens’ remaining wetlands.
Yet as the weekend’s wild weather showed — nearly 8 inches of rain dumped in a single day on the city, the second largest deluge since record-keeping began — global and local environmental issues are growing more difficult to separate.
Scientists have long theorized that the human contribution of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere would result not only in higher temperatures, but in shifting rainfall patterns and stronger storms. While he was hesitant to definitively identify global warming as the root cause, Roberts said flooding events in Queens are already on the rise. “More frequent storms of higher intensity are responsible,” he said. “The trends are consistent.”
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