Much of the material we see on the possible consequences of climate change involves dramatic transformations: sea level rise and coastal erosion, for example. An article in yesterday’s New York Times points to a smaller but easier-to-envision change: new trees.
The city of Chicago is planning ahead for many possible consequences, including warmer temperatures and more precipitation, which is likely to be seasonally distributed much differently than it is now. The city is installing more permeable pavements to handle increased runoff (something it has been doing for several years in low-traffic areas like alleys, as this Stormwater article describes), plotting potential hot spots, and budgeting for air conditioners in public schools—something that wasn’t needed in the past. But one of the most visible changes is that Chicago has banned the Illinois state tree, the white oak, from its planting lists.
Warmer temperatures are making certain trees more vulnerable to disease, and it’s expected that the white oak will be extinct in the Chicago area within a few decades. Instead, city planners are looking to species like swamp oaks and sweet gum trees more typical of the warmer South—whose climate Chicago’s may come to resemble.
The article details more of the city’s planning; it’s even preparing for how to deal with termites, which in the past haven’t been able to survive the Chicago winters.
Other cities, of course, are undertaking similar plans, particularly coastal cities. At StormCon this August in Anaheim, California, a special one-day conference, “Preparing for the Rising Tide: Coastal Protection Symposium,” will include plans from San Francisco and from Olympia, Washington, as well as presentations from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and others regarding technologies and strategies to deal with different contingencies. You can find more information at www.stormcon.com.