Feature Photo: Boston Harbor’s Harborwalk shields city from rising sea levels (Gabrielly De Freitas/NEHSJC)
Temperatures are warming, ice caps are melting, and sea levels are rising. Knowing this, non-profits like Boston Harbor Now are making plans to redevelop the waterfront to withstand rising sea levels.
Just over half of Massachusetts residents live near the coast, placing much of the population under threat of rapidly rising sea levels, according to Mass.gov. With such high stakes, Boston Harbor Now’s work is crucial to the city’s environmental welfare and Bostonians’ safety.
Estimate of sea level rise by Mass.gov (Gabrielly De Freitas/NEHSJC)
Bud Ris, a trustee of Boston Harbor Now, stressed the significance of the harbor to the city, as 11 million people use the harborwalk annually. He reviews waterfront development projects and ensures they account for the gradual rise in sea levels.
Preparing the city is not a one-man job. Ris is among several experts, scattered across public and private organizations who are transforming Boston into a climate-ready city. They’re setting aside simple mitigation tactics and making the city resilient by elevating coastlines and building buffer projects like the harborwalk.
Different organizations are tackling the five coastal neighborhoods in the city as part of a plan called Climate Ready Boston. Through this “divide and conquer” mindset environmental organizations like Boston Harbor Now involve members of the community, like property owners, in preparing Boston for the consequences of climate change.
But Boston Harbor Now’s work is not without its challenges. Ris pointed to the organization’s concerns about the current presidential administration.
“Because of what Trump's doing, everybody's really nervous about the economy,” Ris said. “Major donors are worried about the stock market and not easily giving money.”
Yet this isn’t the first time Boston Harbor has struggled. In 1976, Ris fell overboard into the harbor and was rushed to MGH for a tetanus shot due to the extremely poor water quality. Today, Boston Harbor is one of the cleanest in the country, as a result of an extensive $6 billion clean-up project. “So if I fall off now, I just go swimming,” said Ris.
The organization holds fundraisers, including the annual ‘Spectacle on Spectacle’ party to raise money for essential projects and developments. But Boston Harbor Now and other environmental organizations need public engagement, especially from the youth.
Massachusetts hasn’t seen a significant flood in a long time, decreasing the public’s awareness and sense of urgency. There isn’t enough involvement from the youth in resilient environmental action, Ris said. He urged the younger generation to “get active.”