This is “Higher Ground” from WSHU Public Radio, where we visit communities that are already coping with rising tides and climate change.
Climate change is already here in America’s first suburbs — Long Island. Higher Ground tells the stories of communities on Long Island preparing and adapting to violent storms and rising tides. Join WSHU's J.D. Allen for a series of journeys around Long Island, exploring the solutions that might give us the best chance at survival and help save the places millions of people call home.
These perspectives from Long Island have implications far beyond the region in the search for solutions to survive climate change.
Pack a bag for this trip because all eight, half-hour episodes are available now.
Here's the itinerary:
- We Are Coastal People: The historic bay houses of the Great South Bay speak to our tradition of living by the water. Their designs contain forgotten knowledge for post-storm recovery and draft a rough plan for today’s rising sea level: Finding higher ground.
- Lights Out: Hundred-year storms now topple Long Island's power system every few years. We trace the electric grid to find ways to become more climate resilient.
- There’s Something In The Water: Climate-resilient infrastructure can help turn the tide against pollution. Baymen also want to keep waterways clean with nature's filters. shellfish! It's going to take many mollusks to outweigh the damage humans have done.
- A Modest Proposal: Sea level rise threatens many popular Long Island downtowns. A seemingly crazy plan to move Main Street in the Hamptons could be a first, but surely it’s an impossible task to move so much history … and a rich tourism industry?
- What’s The Buzz?: A day at the winery shows how Long Island agriculture is changing. As sea level rises, the health of the land where crops are grown is at risk. Farmers will try ancient techniques to ward off climate change.
- Canaries In The Coal Mine: Some of our feathered friends are endangered and other seasonal birdwatching favorites might not stick around much longer unless humans become better neighbors to wildlife.
- It’s Time To Talk: Millionaires in the Hamptons may have the resources for this fight, but other communities are disproportionately impacted by climate change and rising sea level. They might not have the means to find higher ground. Part of the problem is connecting their every day observations to climate science.
- If The Beach Goes, We Go: Nature will eventually take its course — with our help or without it. If we are going to choose to live by the coast, the future will remain uncertain. So, for now we replenish the beach and lift houses to save the places where millions of people call home.
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This podcast was made possible by the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, and the Kavli Foundation.