To the Point
Do We Need to Prepare for More and Stronger Storms?
Share |

Do We Need to Prepare for More and Stronger Storms?

Host:
Produced by:
Subscribe to this Podcast:
Podcast iTunes Podcast
Listen to/Watch entire show:
Listen Download Add to My Shows

One lesson from Superstorm Sandy: low-lying urban centers are vulnerable to the consequences of climate change. What will it take to prepare for the next one? Also, income stagnation is a real threat to the American Dream. We hear about that and about the few who have not just achieved it but gone beyond.

Banner image: Remnants of rides at FunTown Amusement Pier rest on the shoreline three days after Hurricane Sandy came ashore in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. Photo by Steve Nesius/Reuters

Making News

Life Gets Back to Normal for Some in Manhattan ()

President Obama is back on the campaign trail, playing catch-up with Mitt Romney while visibly keeping track of disaster recovery. In parts of Manhattan, things are beginning to look almost normal, according to Matt Flegenheimer, transportation reporter for the New York Times.

Guests:
Links:

Main Topic

Is Superstorm Sandy a Wake-Up Call? ()

During this year's presidential campaign, there's been almost a dead silence on climate change. New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo says it's time to start paying attention. He warns that an old infrastructure is now at risk from new weather patterns and he wants to prepare for the next one. Scientists say it's about time. Should beach houses become things of the past?  Should low-lying city pavement be turned into sponges to accommodate flooding?

Guests:

Reporter's Notebook

Wealth, Income and the Presidential Campaign ()

As Obama and Romney argue about taxes and spending, healthcare and immigration, they're "obscuring" what is "arguably the nation's biggest challenge." "For the first time since the Great Depression, middle-class families have been losing ground for more than a decade." David Leonhardt, Washington Bureau Chief for the New York Times, calls it, "income stagnation."

Middle-class income stagnation is the result of many factors, including the digital revolution, globalization and educational attainment.  That's meant a decline in upward mobility and "the American dream" -- but not for everybody. There's a new generation of people as rich as the so-called "robber barons" of the late 19th century. Journalist Chrystia Freeland has profiled them in her book, Plutocrats: the Rise of the New Global Super Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else.

Guests:

Engage & Discuss

Further the conversation with your thoughts and comments. Agree, disagree, present a different perspective -- engage.

For information and guidelines click: Terms of Service | Privacy Policy

Please note, comments are moderated. KCRW reserves the right to edit and or remove posts deemed off-topic, abusive or not in accordance with KCRW's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.