What really stood out about this chapter was the way in which the timeline of weather was described. In previous chapters, usually you heard comparisons of the particular topic from the time of the Europeans coming to the New World to modern day New York City. However, this chapter focused mostly on showing comparisons of weathering with regards to the last century. This was particular effective in displaying the enormous shifts that global warming has caused in our environment.
The use of statistics was especially important in displaying these shifts and changes. The most striking statistic was the notion that the ocean around New York City would rise about 21 inches in the 21st century given current rates of glacial melting. Even the fact that in the past century, the sea has risen 10 inches around the city seems incredibly striking. While changes of sea level in inches is often derided by critics as being an extremely small measure, as someone who has seen Lake Mead in southern Nevada go down several inches with a span of 6 years living in the state, the idea that the ocean will would more than a feet around the city is quite frightening.
The worst thing about these potentially and already massive changes to the environment is our response to it all. The author noted that increased natural disasters have encouraged humans to look at preventative measures. Specifically with regards to coastal cities, governments have built seawalls and other structures to protect homes from hurricanes and floods. However, this clearly ignores the underlying problems of climate change and instead of trying to stop contributing to climate changes, we seem to trying to find ways to deal with its consequences.
