Learning From The Past...

Posted by DAVID
Published on Dec 10, 2012


I read an article today on the New York Economic Development Corporation, and what many locals think is backwards thinking so shortly after storms and tidal surges destroyed a good portion of the coast line in Staten Island.

The EDC is planning to move forward with plans for a waterfront development project that will showcase the world's largest ferris wheel as part of the attraction.

While those of us involved with the Water Truck Project don't like picking sides in issues related to economic development and it's impact on the environment, it seems too soon to truly assess the situation at hand related to this vulnerable coastline, and so quickly make the decision to move forward with plans for the project.

http://www.archdaily.com/299354/staten-island-a-microcosm-of-new-yorks-post-sandy-controversies/

It reminds me of the story of Hilo, Hawaii.

Researching the history of this city reveals the dangers of consistently ignoring the impact of the environment. Hilo has been severely damaged by two different tsunamis in recorded history - one in 1946 and one in 1960. What is interesting about Hilo is that the coastline is designed to make taller, more-devestating tsunamis because of it's crescent shape and the slope of the ocean floor. In consideration of the growing threat of earthquakes, and the known impacts of the tsunamis, it is one of the worst locations to build a city.

Yet between these two events in the history of Hilo, more people moved back after each successive event. Hilo's population is now at an all time high.

Though coastlines are some of our most beautiful landscapes, they often represent the poorest logic of the human condition. Can we put a value on the preservation of the environment that equates to the value we put on residential amenities and views?

Until we do, we are putting lives at risk.