This is one in a ongoing series of NRDC staff blogs dealing with environmental health, natural resource and quality-of-life impacts of Hurricane Sandy. NRDC is planning wide-ranging advocacy activities in the storm's wake, which will also be covered by my colleagues here on Switchboard.
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Since Sandy hit New York City last month, our discussions here at NRDC New York about the storm’s impact—and how to avoid similar devastation in the future—have centered on topics ranging from subways to food, from environmental justice to electric vehicles, from fracking to water to green energy.
The common thread that binds them is a strong commitment to helping where and how we can now, and to safeguarding against the storms that will inevitably come in the future.
That’s why our New York team recently traveled to Staten Island and the Rockaways to talk to people on the ground, and also to see firsthand the destruction, so that we can best focus NRDC’s efforts.
As we all—especially those most directly impacted—know, this will be a very long process.
Many people in those areas are still without basic needs like food and power and heat. And as time passes and the cold creeps in, mold continues to grow, causing significant health problems. Our visit was informational and eye opening.
This purpose of this blog is not to lay out solutions to the most pressing Sandy-related issues. Rather, it is simply to offer readers a glimpse of some of the scenes we witnessed.
And as we continue to speak with people and begin working on crafting short- and long-term strategies for moving forward, we encourage anyone who is able to volunteer or donate.
One month after Sandy, there is still a great need for help.
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