The following Letter to the Editor was published in Newsday on August 14th, 2024. You can view the original version here.
On Long Island, we no longer have the luxury of preparing for only high-profile weather events like hurricanes and blizzards. Now, even “routine” storms are dangerous [“Prepare for tomorrow’s perils,” Editorial, Aug. 11].
Climate change has necessitated shifts in communicative and policy approaches to deal with this new normal.
Local elected officials must coordinate with state and federal agencies to secure funding and the policy mechanisms needed to harden key infrastructural systems and educate the public about the risks of these increasingly extreme weather patterns.
The editorial board is correct to praise calls for regional cohesiveness, but as with housing and transportation issues, cooperation across municipal lines has eluded us.
As temperatures rise and winds rage, we must work together to ensure that words translate into action before we are hit with the next unexpected deluge.
– Richard Murdocco, Commack
Editor’s Note: The writer is an adjunct professor in Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences.
