Category Archives: climate

Next Mayor: Continue to Lead on Climate

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Philip Orton

This is an Op-Ed published in the New York Times Room for Debate forum .  It was solicited by the RfD editor, with the topic being “transportation challenges for the next mayor”. It was eventually published under a somewhat different debate topic, … Continue reading →

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Perspectives on NY/NJ Coastal Adaptation to Extreme Flooding Events

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Philip Orton

I’ve been busy trying to finish up a bunch of storm surge related research for the past few months, but occasionally speaking on various scientific panels and other public events.  So, below I’m linking a few of these that people … Continue reading →

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Re-Awakening the American Meteorological Society’s NYC Meetings

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Philip Orton

A few of us are re-awakening the long-dormant public NYC seminar series of the NYC / Long Island chapter of the American Meteorological Society, with 1-2 evening events held per semester at Columbia University.  The webpage for seminars is: http://apam.columbia.edu/ams-nyclong-island-chapter-seminar The first … Continue reading →

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Trees Tell the Story of 500 Years of NYC Drought History

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Philip Orton

by Neil Pederson I didn’t see this coming. Yes, winter 2011-2012 has been quite unusual and it is becoming more obvious that almost anything can happen with our weather these days (see October snowstorm followed by days in winter 2012 … Continue reading →

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“Winter” 2011-2012: Hitting 50+ degrees Every Week

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Philip Orton

It keeps striking me how we seem to hit 50+ degree temperatures every week this winter, so I checked it out.  Here’s a plot showing hourly temperature data at Central Park and La Guardia.  Not only have we hit 50+ … Continue reading →

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Is there a Future to Skiing in the Adirondacks?

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Philip Orton

I often find myself correcting environmentalists about their mis-representations of certain aspects of the scientific consensus on climate change.  For example, after Hurricane Katrina trashed New Orleans, I think that hurricanes seemed to be a politically useful topic for getting … Continue reading →

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Our Cozy Little Heat Island

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Philip Orton

As our year’s coldest weather may be on its way this weekend, it might warm you to compare this spell to one lesser-known historical cold temperature record.  New York City metro area winters are a quite a bit warmer than … Continue reading →

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Garbage Transfer Stations and Delicate Ecosystems

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Philip Orton

[This is an Op-Ed that was originally published in text-only form yesterday in the weekly free newspaper Our Town, serving Manhattan’s Upper East Side] Mayor Bloomberg has been pushing to rebuild and reopen a shuttered marine garbage transfer station (MTS) … Continue reading →

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King Tides, a Window to Future Sea Level Rise

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Philip Orton

In late October, there was a little photo op, an NYC runway show for climate change, so to speak.  People were asked to go out and take a picture of the unusually high “king tide” which was about one foot … Continue reading →

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King Tides and Sea Level Rise (and beachcombing!)

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Philip Orton

Some of the highest tides of the year are coming in the next two days, and an event is being organized to raise awareness of sea level rise.  Kate Boicourt at the New York / New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program … Continue reading →

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