Page 14 - CooperatorNews New York September 2021

14 COOPERATORNEWS —
SEPTEMBER 2021
COOPERATORNEWS.COM
along our coasts in Long Island, Florida, and ing. “You don’t know what you don’t know.
New England, for instance, rising sea level is In many cases we react to what’s out there
the biggest issue. Combine that with bigger historically, but that’s a reaction to some-
storms up and down the East Coast, and you thing that’s already happened. We are now
must ask the question of how we will fortify talking about things that haven’t happened
the properties against the combination of before—and there’s no political will to react
these two factors.”
“Hotter is hotter, and colder is colder,” what we’ve seen.” Though based on the UN
says Howard Zimmerman, owner and IPCC’s projections, it’s becoming obvious
founder of Howard Zimmerman Architects that even if we haven’t yet seen what’s com-
& Engineers, a consultancy based in New ing, it isn’t pretty.
York. These new extremes in temperature, he
explains, add stress to our building systems, problem in dealing with the impending ef-
reducing their useful life and requiring more fects of climate change in our communities
maintenance and earlier replacement.
Another concern, explains Peter Varsa-
lona, vice president and principal of RAND that with most condo and co-op communi-
Engineering, is that with worsening ex-
tremes of hot and cold, more energy is nec-
essary to maintain interior temperatures on boards have term limits. Planning of
through existing HVAC systems, exacerbat-
ing the original problem of human-made years or more. No board wants to assess their
carbon emissions by necessitating more en-
ergy use to achieve the same results as be-
fore. So not only does climate change cause right now.”
more extreme conditions, but the extreme
conditions it causes require still more energy Florida, where the effects of climate change
to mediate, which in turn worsens the prob-
lem...you see where this is going.
How Much Worse?
The reality is that the situation is likely to funding requirements for building systems.
get worse before it gets better. Years of inac-
tion and politicization of the issue have given sociation members, many of whom may be
the upper hand to human industry’s impact elderly and on fixed incomes, that they need
on the planet. The United Nations Intergov-
ernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) uations that might occur beyond their typi-
released its most recent report on the issue cal human lifespan.
on August 9, 2021. Its sobering findings in-
clude that, averaged over the next 20 years,
global temperature is expected to reach or the troubling trends that are clearly coming?
exceed 1.5°C of warming—a rubicon of The answers fall into three broad categories:
sorts that climate scientists say will result in floodplain management, energy efficiency,
increasing heat waves, longer warm seasons, and appropriate capital improvement plan-
and shorter cold seasons. “Unless there are ning.
immediate, rapid, and large-scale reduc-
tions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting munities—especially those built along the
warming to close to 1.5°C or even 2°C will waterfront, though not limited to them—is
be beyond reach,” says the press release on protecting vital infrastructure from flood-
the report’s publication.
The changing climate is already fuel-
ing disastrous weather around the world. flood map were, and are, subject to inunda-
Glaciers are melting faster, dumping huge tion. Floods come from all kinds of water-
amounts of water into the oceans and im-
pacting weather patterns. Hurricanes are even poorly constructed roadways in need of
getting more frequent and ferocious; un-
precedented, torrential rains have unleashed ditions (especially if they’re built on top of
floods in China and Europe, as we saw with former canals, creeks, or other tributaries).
the tragic, deadly situation in Germany this
past summer. Heatwaves and wildfires are such as HVAC equipment, electrical rooms,
scorching Siberia and the Arctic, and laying and other systems critical to multifam-
waste to swathes of the Western U.S.
With regards to rising sea level, Varsalona basements—the least desirable and valuable
notes that by 2050 or so, flooding is going portions of our buildings. These building
to be a major issue in low-lying areas. “The areas are also the first and most likely to be-
short answer is yes,” he says, but he and the come flooded. “Along the shore where you
other professionals interviewed for this ar-
ticle are quick to say that predictions—even approach,” explains Keating. “The first resi-
those based on current data—are tricky
when it comes to something as complex and
variable as climate.
“No one predicts these things,” says Keat-
to future problems. We tend to only react to
Zimmerman observes that an intrinsic
is the very structure by which our commu-
nities govern themselves. “The problem is
ties, the boards are composed of volunteers,”
he says, “and in some cases, those serving
this kind is looking down the road 10 to 15
neighbors for monies they need 15 years
from now. The process is too short-sighted
This problem is particularly acute in
are most pronounced at present—and where
Florida’s condominium statute permits as-
sociations to bypass mandatory reserve
Frankly, it can be very hard to convince as-
to set aside monies for potential disaster sit-
Countermeasures
What can we realistically do to counter
Perhaps most immediate for many com-
ing. As New Yorkers learned from Hurri-
cane Sandy, areas not found on the 100-year
ways—not just oceans. Rivers, streams, and
upgrading can potentially create flood con-
Traditionally, vital infrastructure systems
ily building operations have been hidden in
are building, there must be a wet and dry
CLIMATE CHANGE...
continued from page 1
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