Experts warn: Prepare for rising seas, storms

Local officials told coastal towns at risk from global warming

BY SUE MORGAN Staff Writer

BY SUE MORGAN
Staff Writer

Tony MacDonald opens the forum at Monmouth University on global warming and rising sea levels. Tony MacDonald opens the forum at Monmouth University on global warming and rising sea levels. Anyone who believes that a storm like Hurricane Katrina might never unleash its fury on New Jersey’s coastal communities, might want to think again.

Given the state’s proximity to the continuously warming and rising Atlantic Ocean, combined with the cautionary tale of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast post-Katrina, area mayors and elected officials need to prepare for the worst case scenario now, several environmental experts said during a conference on the local impact of global warming at Monmouth University last week.

“The best actions are local actions within the communities affected by the sea level rising,” said Mark Mauriello, assistant commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and one of the presenters during the two-hour workshop entitled “Global Warming, Sea Level Rise and Impact on Coastal Communities: A Forum for Mayors.”

The workshop which featured presentations on the scientific aspects that cause global warming and rising seas by professors from two New Jersey colleges, was sponsored by the West Long Branch University’s Urban Coast Institute.

Area officials who attended included West Long Branch Mayor Janet W. Tucci, Sea Bright Borough Council President William “Jack” Keeler, Long Branch Recreation Director Carl Jennings and Old Bridge Township Councilman Reggie Butler.

Former Sea Bright Councilman Andrew Mencinsky attended on behalf of the Surfers’ Environmental Alliance, and Keith Rella, a policy analyst with Sandy Hook-based Clean Ocean Action (COA), was also in attendance.

U.S Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, was also on hand.

Pallone called for the federal government to sign the international Kyoto Agreement and join in the effort to protect the earth’s natural resources.

“Global warming will impact everyone born today and in the next 30 to 40 years,” Pallone said. “We can’t wait another 20 to 30 years. We have to take action today.”

Brick Township Mayor Joseph Scarpelli, a presenter who spoke about environmentally friendly best practices that elected leaders can use in their hometowns pointed out how the United States could become economically impaired if it does not act to conserve resources.

“If we don’t control these energy costs we’re going to lose money,” said Scarpelli who said he has signed the Kyoto Agreement on his own initiative. “[The United States] will not be able to compete in the international market.”

As the ocean’s temperature rises, the waters expand causing nearby shorelines to sink, according to Jon Miller, a professor and researcher from the Center for Maritime Studies at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken.

New Orleans, while already geographically below sea level, is an example of a sinking city, Miller said.

Closer to home, sea levels are rising off Atlantic City causing that city to very slowly begin sinking said Miller, causing snickers from a few in attendance.

“The rule of thumb is every foot increase in the surf’s elevation will result in 50 to 100 feet in shoreline recession,” Miller said.

In short, a Category Five hurricane “could happen even in Monmouth County,” Miller said.

To avoid disaster, private citizens, with the support of local officials, can elevate homes and other buildings as well as roads, utility and communication lines, and relocate inland, Miller suggested.

Though many environmental triggers have contributed to global warming, humans have the potential to influence one of the causes: the use of fossil fuels and other chemicals that trap solar radiation in the atmosphere, according to Stewart Farrell, a marine biology professor at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Galloway Township.

“A warmer ocean surface means there will be more frequent and more intense storms,” Farrell said.

For every six degrees that the water temperature rises, the sea level rises 15 feet globally, something that could eventually drown barrier islands, Farrell said.

Replenishing the sand dunes along the state’s beaches is vital to protecting the coastal towns from the impact of floods and storms, Mauriello said.

“When you don’t have the dunes, you have damage to structures and boardwalks,” he said.

New Jersey is now fourth in the nation when it comes to flood insurance claims, Mauriello pointed out. That standing should serve as a wake-up call for the state and municipalities to work together in preventing storm damage.

“We need to do a better job at DEP at knowing what local communities’ needs are,” Mauriello said. “There need to be more coordinated efforts between communities.”

Picking up on Farrell’s cue, Scarpelli called on other elected leaders to decrease the use of fossil fuels and chemicals in public buildings.

“Mayors set the standards,” Scarpelli said. “But some officials haven’t gotten the message.”

Officials can lead the environmental initiative by requesting an energy audit from the state’s Board of Public Utilities (BPU), purchasing only energy-efficient appliances, turning off lights and computers when not in use, and using “green” cleaning products in municipal buildings.

Brick is also looking into purchasing hybrid vehicles for its municipal fleet as has been done already in New York City, Scarpelli said.

In addition, municipalities need to “adopt and enforce land use regulations and preserve open space,” he went on.

Brick Township’s public schools now participate in a “green schools program” where staff, teachers and students are encouraged to save electric, gas and water, Scarpelli said.

Belmar Mayor Kenneth Pringle, whose community sustained $1 million in storm damage from nine inches of rain during a “storm surge” last October, stressed the importance of having an evacuation plan in place.

“That includes focusing on the little ones as well as the big one,” Pringle said.

A mass exodus on Interstate 195 westbound could result if coastal communities are not prepared, said Pringle, who is also municipal attorney in Red Bank.

“Every mayor in America watched as [Hurricane Katrina] unfolded and watched [New Orleans] Mayor [Ray] Nagin take a beating and wondered how they would perform in a similar situation,” Pringle said.

In Belmar, officials are prepping residents to be able to survive and manage on their own just in case assistance from the federal, state or county government is slow to arrive, he noted.

“But the rising temperatures in the oceans and other bodies of water put any coastal city or town at risk,” Pringle said.

“Coastal communities are the canaries in the global warming coal mine,” Pringle said.

Local governments have to take action and send a message to governments at higher levels, he continued.

“If we’re not going to do anything about global warming, why should anyone else?” Pringle said.

Others in attendance included Monmouth University President Paul G. Gaffney a retired vice admiral who said he has also worked as an oceanographer and Tony MacDonald, director of the Urban Coast Institute who served as the moderator.