Conference: Confronting Climate Change in
the Hudson-Delaware River Region

TITLE: Confronting Climate Change in the Hudson-Delaware River Region
DATE: April 23, 1998
SITE: Ramapo College, Mahwah, New Jersey
CO-SPONSORS: US Environmental Protection Agency, Ramapo College of New Jersey, The United Nations Environment Programme, The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

This conference was the kick-off event for Ramapo College's fourth Mid-Atlantic Environmental Conference and the premier Earth Day event in Bergen County, New Jersey. The conference drew about 150 participants, including state and local planners, educators, representatives of environmental action groups, and concerned citizens. The morning sessions discussed the science and global impacts of climate change, and the afternoon sessions were devoted to the regional impacts of climate change.

The keynote speaker, Robert Shinn, Commissioner of New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection, described the partnership approach that the state of New Jersey is taking in order to address climate change and sea level rise. He argued that "climate change is a most daunting issue and one of the most important issues facing policymakers today." Dr. Michael MacCracken of the US Global Change Research Program discussed the potential effects of global warming such as shifts in ocean circulation and the implication that this could have for human health, agriculture, forests, water resources, coastal areas, biodiversity, and natural areas. Dr. Steven Hamburg of Brown University detailed the potential local impacts of climate change, concluding that, overall, the ecological effects of climate change on the Hudson Delaware Region would not be positive.

In the afternoon, participants broke into three working groups on specific regional impacts. Each group heard from a panel of presenters and then discussed possible responses in more depth. A panel on Natural and Managed Ecosystems expressed concern over the loss of wetlands, the vulnerability of water resources, and the possible effects of habitat destruction and land subsidence. It called for the development of grassroots groups to raise awareness about the value of natural systems. The panel on Emergency Response and Planning discussed how climate change will impact the insurance industry and how the industry might play a role in educating the public on how to reduce loss, on considering the suitability of sites and the question of rebuilding after loss. It was also suggested that the insurance industry could sponsor research on building materials and techniques that will stand up to winds, floods and earthquakes. The group also discussed the hazards of flooding which threaten every local river basin and proposed halting development in the Highlands and spending money on urban land acquisition. Additional protection of wetlands to take care of sewage overflow in the lower Passaic River was also recommended. The third group, discussing Energy, Transportation and Community Planning, determined that regional climate change poses a serious challenge to community and regional sustainability and that minimizing greenhouse emissions and other pollutants must be a priority when considering future growth and replacement of infrastructure and building stock. The group also discussed ways to use auto fleets and delivery systems more creatively to increase the resiliency of transportation systems to the stresses a greenhouse-enhanced world would impose.

Following the final plenary session, a reception was held to celebrate the success of the nearby Sterling Forest conservation effort in which 11,000 acres of forest land was acquired by New York, New Jersey, and various land trusts. President Scott of Ramapo College presided over a public forum on climate change, which included a panel discussion with former New Jersey Governor James Florio, Dr. Devra Davis of the World Resources Institute, and Anthony Cortese, head of Natural Step.