14 DAY TRIAL // This past January 14, Governor Deval Patrick announced that the state of Massachusetts was to spend as much as $50 million (roughly €36.6 million), maybe even more, on becoming better equipped to deal with climate-driven natural disasters.
More precisely, these funds are to be spent on projects intended to make the state have an easier time coping with rising sea levels and floods brought about by severe storms such as hurricane Sandy.
Otherwise put, Massachusetts is getting ready to invest in preparing for and protecting itself against climate change and global warming.
Speaking at a meeting held at the New England Aquarium in Boston, Governor Deval Patrick detailed that roughly $10 million (about €7.30 million) of the $50 million made available to tackle the effects of said phenomena are to be distributed among cities and towns across the state.
Thus, this money will be used to strengthen seawalls and other structures that sit on the coast and which can help protect human communities against sea level rise and floods, Think Progress reports.
The remaining $40 million (€29.25 million) will be invested in projects meant to bolster existing electrical power systems and other infrastructure across the state.
As part of this plan to prepare for the effects of climate change, the state of Massachusetts will also ask its transportation department to assess its facilities and pin down vulnerabilities.
Once this assessment is completed, the transportation department is expected to roll out adaptation plans.
Commenting on the state's decision to roll out this initiative, Governor Deval Patrick made a case of how, “I believe that we have a generational responsibility to address the multiple threats of climate change.”
Furthermore, “Massachusetts needs to be ready, and our plant will make sure that we are.”
Presently, much of the United States’ population and economy is concentrated on the country's East Coast. Interestingly enough, it is this precise region that scientists have reasons to believe will be hit the hardest by rising sea levels.