Brookline Faces Climate Change

 By Richard B. Primack and Pamela H. Templer

 

“The life in us is like the water in the river. It may rise this year higher than man has ever known it, and flood the parched uplands.” Henry David Thoreau in Walden.

 

As we discuss in a recent article in the Brookline Greenspace Alliance Winter newsletter, climate change is already affecting Brookline and these effects will become even more severe in coming decades.

 

The increasing frequency and length of heat waves means that air conditioners have become more of a necessity rather than a luxury, especially for vulnerable populations like the elderly and people facing health challenges. Outdoor sports, gardening, and other work activities are sometimes cancelled or rescheduled to avoid extreme heat. 

 

 

Figure 1: Hot spots in Brookline are concentrated north of the Green Line D Branch, and are found mainly in areas near Harvard and Beacon Streets.

With earlier Springs and later Autumns, people can enjoy more time gardening and cultivating a wider variety of plants. However, longer growing seasons can also increase the prevalence of plant and animal pests, invasive species and diseases, putting native species at risk. 

 

Less snow during milder winters does mean less work shoveling snow, however, less snow makes it harder to sustain winter sports like outdoor ice skating and skiing, and means a smaller snow pack which is an important source of water.

 

More rain is now falling in stronger downpours, increasing the risk of basement flooding and streets becoming impassable rivers, especially near the Muddy River and Chestnut Hill. Below-ground stations of the train systems could fill with water, putting the T out of action. 

 

As sea levels continue to rise, and hurricanes intensify, the Boston area becomes more vulnerable to coastal flooding. If Boston gets hit by a hurricane during high tide, seawater could flood much of the Back Bay area and along the Muddy River to Brookline Village.

 

 

Figure 2: Flood zones, historic wetlands, and historic brooks in Brookline. Note that the entire northeast of Brookline in the vicinity of the Muddy River is susceptible to flooding.

Climate change will also result in more droughts, increasing the risk of ground fires in brushy areas. Fires in surrounding communities can create clouds of smoke and hazardous air quality in Brookline.

 

To address all of these problems, we need to reduce our emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, make sure that infrastructure is designed and maintained to deal with the changing conditions, and plant more trees to cool local temperatures. We should also continue to talk about climate change and the need to both slow it down and adapt. 

 

Here is a link to the article: LINK