New Jersey agonizes over whether to rebuild shore – Salon.com

The phrase “Jersey Shore” is taking on a new meaning, emblematic of disaster recovery.

…environmentalists and shoreline planners urged the state to think about how – and if – to redevelop the shoreline as it faces an even greater threat of extreme weather.

“The next 50 to 100 years are going to be very different than what we’ve seen in the past 50 years,” said S. Jeffress Williams, a scientist emeritus at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Woods Hole Science Center in Massachusetts.

The sea level is rising fast, and destructive storms are occurring more frequently, said Williams, who expects things to get even worse.

He and other shoreline advocates say the state should consider how to protect coastal areas from furious storms when they rebuild it, such as relocating homes and businesses farther from the shore, building more seawalls and keeping sand dunes high.

How to rebuild after the disaster is becoming an issue even as New Jersey assesses its damage.

via New Jersey agonizes over whether to rebuild shore – Salon.com.

FEMA Taps Private Vendors to Meet Sandy Victim’s Needs

FEMA…began to solicit bids for vendors to provide bottled water for distribution to Hurricane Sandy victims on Friday, sending out a solicitation request for 2.3 million gallons of bottled water at the FedBizOpps.gov website. Bidding closed at 4:30 pm eastern.

via FEMA Taps Private Vendors to Meet Sandy Victim's Needs.

Gasoline Runs Short, Adding Woes to Storm Recovery – NYTimes.com

Gasoline shortages point to another good reason to develop towns where employment centers, park and recreation facilities, grocery stores and housing are within walking distance. Community gardens are also important in this regard, although the flooding would have destroyed these. In any event, communities need to meet their needs without requiring an automobile trip to do so. Bicycle lanes and bicycle ownership by every family member are another good idea.

Four days after Hurricane Sandy, the effort to secure enough gas for the region moved to the forefront of recovery work. The problems affected even New York City, where the Taxi Commission warned that the suddenly indispensable fleet of yellow cabs would thin significantly Friday because of the fuel shortage.</p>

via Gasoline Runs Short, Adding Woes to Storm Recovery – NYTimes.com.

Sandy Leaves Mass Transit Reeling, Millions Stranded in Greater NY | Fox Business

This is another casualty of poor disaster planning after Hurricane Sandy washed out the subway and surface mass transportation systems.

Trees and boats deposited by storm surges on railroad tracks and horrific floods caused by Hurricane Sandy threaten to keep millions of people reliant on public transportation stranded for days.

Efforts to analyze the scale and breadth of damage on railways, subways, roadways, trains and buses in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut began Tuesday, however it’s unclear when public transit will return to normal. 

via Sandy Leaves Mass Transit Reeling, Millions Stranded in Greater NY | Fox Business.

Another Hurricane Threat: Gas Fires Burning in New Jersey, Possible Explosions – ABC News

Gas hissing, fires, possible explosions. These are just some of the post-hurricane flood worries plaguing New Jersey residents.

On the long and slender stretch of  New Jersey barrier beaches that includes Brick Township, the hiss of gas seems to be everywhere. And between gas fires and the ocean surge, dozens of homes have been destroyed – 60 in Brick Township alone.

The threat from gas is widespread and  the risk of further fire and explosion continues along this devastated coastline where many homes were lifted from foundations and their gas lines ruptured. And officials say it will continue until flames are brought under control and utilities are able to turn off the  main gas line serving the two barrier islands on this stretch.

via Gas Fires Still Burning in New Jersey Where Threat Remains of Possible Explosion – ABC News.

Lack Of Long-Term Planning, Underinvestment Hamper Energy Restore

Imagine a 100-year planning horizon. This is not a far-fetched idea, according to Brian Colle, a professor of atmospheric science at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

NEW YORK — Two days after Hurricane Sandy walloped the East Coast, electrical utility companies warned hundreds of thousands of customers from Long Island to New Jersey that they may be left in the dark for more than 10 days.

Critics said cost-cutting was holding back recovery efforts, and long-term planning around climate change and extreme weather is lacking. The the industry pointed to downed trees, knocked-out facilities and the devastating reach of the storm to explain the duration of outages.

“You cannot make infrastructure hurricane-proof. We had a nine-foot storm surge on top of high tide. You cannot protect your infrastructure against that sort of damage,” said Chris Eck, spokesman for Jersey Central Power & Light, which had 940,000 customers without power Wednesday.

But several utility and climate experts maintained that utilities, faulted in many places for their response to Hurricane Irene a year ago, should look further back in geological history, and further ahead toward the destabilizing effects of global warming, as they prepare for natural disaster.

In New York City, researchers warned in 2008 that the shoreline was highly vulnerable to a massive surge. Brian Colle, a professor of atmospheric science at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, said higher surges could have been foreseen by looking at geological history.

“If you’re planning for New York City to be around for more than 100 years — which I would hope so — then I think it’s prudent to have a flood mitigation plan or strategy that goes beyond 100 years,” Colle said.

via Hurricane Sandy Utility Outages May Be Worsened By Underinvestment, Lack Of Planning.

School District Bans PTA Ice Cream Sales | FOX News & Commentary: Todd Starnes

A New Jersey school district has ordered the PTA to stop selling ice cream to students on campus because the longtime fundraising violates state and federal law.

For years the PTA in Parsippany, New Jersey sold ice cream once a week on campuses across the district. The money was used to fund cultural arts programs and field trips for the students.

via School District Bans PTA Ice Cream Sales | FOX News & Commentary: Todd Starnes.