Manhattan vs. The Sea: Who Will Win?

By: Mueenat Ajanaku, Class IV

Photo Credit: Pixabay

What Is Climate Change?

Similarly to how the Sun rises every morning, the sea is starting to rise as well. Climate change is defined as long-term shifts in temperature and weather patterns. Though it began in the late 19th century due to the industrial revolution, we only started to see major effects during the late 1970s. Climate change has a multitude of harmful impacts on the environment, such as causing rising sea levels, which is the increase of ocean water due to the loss of land ice and warmer waters. Rising sea levels can increase the transmission of diseases, destabilize coastal ecosystems, cause extreme flooding, and overall hurt our environment. New York is surrounded by a body of water, and so it's been a constant victim of rising sea levels. People are urging action before the effects of climate change become irreversible. Mr. Castello, an English teacher at The Brooklyn Latin High School, believes, “If we don’t do anything about it now, the results will be detrimental to our future.” 

Effects of Rising Sea Levels

New York City is currently sinking due to the pressure created by the weight of buildings, Landfill construction that causes the ground to become looser, and Glacier melting, which is a cause of rising Sea Levels. Glacier melting is when an ice sheet melts, so the water flows into the ocean, causing the sea level to rise. The article “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: New York Is Slowly Sinking” establishes, "The New York Region as a whole is subsiding at a rate of between two millimeters and four millimeters each year.” If New York City continues to sink, there will be mass flooding, which can cause physical health, damage to your homes, and financial loss. It can create an increase in the transmission of diseases, with our drinking water becoming contaminated. It can also cause the expansion of water-based habitats for vectors like mosquitoes. As the sea level rises, floodplains will continue to be attacked by waves, which will cause erosion. This can further cause landslides since it weakens the ground and makes it unstable. An example of the disasters that could happen because of climate change and specifically rising sea levels is Hurricane Sandy. The article “Modeling study shows that hurricane Sandy Damages were Worsened by Climate Change,” states, “tens of thousands more people were affected, and more than $8 billion in damages from the storm were the result of human-caused sea level rise.” This demonstrates how devastating Rising Sea Levels can be to New Yorkers, and the environment. 

What are Sea Walls?

The government has been putting up extra precautions to protect New York from rising sea levels, such as building seawalls. A sea wall is a structure made from rocks, concrete, or other materials that can help separate land and water. The plan is to create a six-mile-long wall barrier stretching along the Hudson River to protect the city from Flooding and coastal storms. Building sea walls might not have an impact on our day-to-day lives, but it will impact our society as a whole.

Positive and Negative Impact of Sea Walls

As stated, sea walls can protect coastal regions from erosion and flooding, which are the primary effects of Rising Sea levels. However, sea walls can harm wildlife habitats by disrupting animals' nests, alter the natural ecosystem, and use a lot of the city’s finances. There has been a lot of debate on if we should build sea walls. Aniyah Mentor (Class IV) expresses,  “Last year we had a flood and it was so difficult to do anything, if there is a way to prevent something like that from happening again we should go with it.”  Ms Houshangi, a Biology teacher at The Brooklyn Latin High School, states, “We should try to build these sea walls in the least impactful way so that ecosystems aren’t being affected by human interference.” In a Federal report about New York and New Jersey coastal storm risk management, it states “At current price levels (Fiscal Year 2022 price level) the Tentatively Selected Plan [for sea walls] has an estimated project first cost of 52,627,320,000.” There has been lots of mixed emotions on if the government should spend this much money on seawalls. Ms. Houshangi states, “It cost a lot of money to build sea walls, but it will cost a lot of money to repair damages caused by rising sea levels later.” Ultimately, there are a lot of benefits and disadvantages to creating sea walls for New York City. 

Alternatives to Sea Walls

Other options that can prevent rising sea levels and less harm to the environment are living shorelines and permeable sea walls. Living shorelines are also called natural sea walls, they are natural ecosystems that can absorb wave energy and prevent erosion. The article, “‘Living seawalls’ prove eco-engineering’s sea legs are strong," states, “This rehabilitation of coastal ecosystems will help minimize the impact of natural disasters such as flooding caused by earthquakes and hurricanes.” However, Living Shorelines aren’t as effective if the shoreline is hardened, and New York City shoreline is hardened due to human interference. Another alternative option to sea walls is permeable sea walls. Permeable sea walls are sea walls that allow water to pass through. This can improve water flow, which then helps coastal ecosystems, unlike regular sea walls. Nonetheless, permeable sea walls have their cons as well. Their water flow disrupts sediments which can lead to erosion. Overall, there are many different alternatives to seawalls, yet they might not be best suited to New York. Sea walls can protect the city from flooding and other damages caused by rising sea levels and since the effects of climate change are already here, creating a plan to help reduce the effects of climate change is essential.