Climate change threatens the future of Chicago

Climate change is threatening the structural integrity of Chicago, the nation's third-largest city nestled between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River Delta. Dan Egan, the author of "The Death and Life of the Great Lakes" and journalist-in-residence at the Center for Water Policy at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's School of Freshwater Sciences, joined CBSN to discuss the impact of climate change on the Windy City.

[TeslaRules]

Chicago is In a tough spot compared to where else in the United States? No drought, fresh water, not too many heat waves, no earthquakes, no fires, no hurricanes. The power grid is built to handle from -10 to 100 degrees. We have robust natural gas for redundancy. Large mass transit systems. Yes we have issues with rain, flash floods, rising lake levels and shoreline loss. I still think it will cope Better than some places with climate change.

[samlair]

By now, the great majority of humanity is aware of the great challenge that the amplified greenhouse effect is confronting us with. In the past, we could have saved ourselves by reversing our dependency on fossil fuels. Now, however, we must, also, begin to adapt to that which is no longer avoidable. This will require greater intelligence, courage, wisdom and other virtues than we are currently displaying.

[frankleahy]

Lake Michigan is on a 13 year cycle of high/low water levels. Every 6-7 years it hits a cycle high, then 6-7 years later a cycle low. 7 years ago people were scared because they thought the water was drying up forever. I wonder when companies with credible long term data will attempt to correct this constant cycle of humans misunderstanding their situation because they cannot see the bigger picture.

[sturdythorpe]

All the super rich are flying their private jets to a climate conference. I'm sure they're going to tell "us" what we needed to sacrifice to cool the planet.

[hangyourslef]

This is why everyone should have done the right thing 10 years ago... may god be with you all

[javen]

anyone else notice the two photos of London while talking about Chicago haha?

[h-minus]

The west is dry and the Great Lakes are wet. I’m bedazzled

[chrissignal]

Climate change and covid, how will we ever survive😲

[FWtravels]

Went to Chicago yesterday. Seems like a nice city .

[randybowler]

Is it time to act yet or are we just going to pretend like everything is just fine? No one listened to people warning us for 50 years now, how about some action?

[josephlavigne]

The hottest temperature ever recorded in Death Valley was in 1913

[raspberrypi]

I love the smell of Climate Change in the Afternoon

[danielsuarez]

Why are they showing pictures of Atlanta, someone didn't do their homework; lazy work to say the least.

[fshg]

Incredible news about Chicago WOW 3rd largest city is like the others in major crisis. Any good news now?

[davidgonzalez]

Feel like crime is a bigger immediate threat to Chicago than climate change

[MrFrancggetsbux]

Great piece on my home. Chicago's infrastructure and shools have been systematically refunded!

The southeast side of the Chi has over 3000 ppm of lead in all the water pipes. Lead ingestion leads to behavioral health issues, anger, and destruction, hence the senseless crimes. Bout 10 years ago 52 schools were closed on the South side and west sides. All while CPD was granted 2Billion for their budget 2020.

[jasonmanus]

The picture used in the thumbnail is canary wharf in London..

[toffthe]

Great stills you've got there of Canary Wharf in London ( UK) at 0.32

[RWRogers]

I’d rather live in Chicago or the Midwest rustbelt cities than where everybody is moving to now…. Specifically the south and sunbelt region. Coastal cities along the south and west will be the places NOT to go by mid century.
The growth should stall with the rising costs of the south and southwest and the rising homelessness and pollution. It’s going to cave in on itself as fast growth usually always brings a crash and decline. Just like the rust belt region. Chicago, Buffalo, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Toledo, Akron we’re the Houston, Miami, San Francisco Bay, Austin, Dallas-FT Worth, San Antonio, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Denver, Phoenix 100 years ago and experiencing their prime then most of those cities but their regions as a whole crashed by mid 1950. The same will happen by 2050 and we will prob see the rust belt rise again. It’s already cheaper and attractive for young college graduates. So the beginnings are already there for this to happen.
But I think Boston and NYC and Philadelphia are definite places of the future because they are cities of the past and current and made it through the crash of the rust belt and manufacturing decline by diversifying their economies and are good regions as they aren’t over populated.. NYC knew to build upwards so they can handle growth. Their homelessness is growing tho especially post COVID era. Rising rents and cost of living is pushing people out of the city. It’s sort of already happening in nyc and LA and San Francisco. The pandemic sort of helped to curve the growth that they were experiencing.
Chicago manages to be a hit city to this day. It just started declining post COVID but started finding growth again after stalling since 1990. 2010-2019 or so they were growing but now are projected to have lost people.
Chicago should maintain and be a future city. They aren’t going to be as devastated by climate change as the sunbelt.

[raybod]

Lake Michigan levels go up and down along with all the Great Lakes, he’s exaggerating problems. We used to have more flooding in Chicago before the Deep Tunnel project. It’s likely a piece to distract people’s attention from the regular extreme floods that happen in East Coast cities like New York. Chicago does have occasional temporary problems, but nothing compared to what will happen in the next 50 years to other cities. Oceans may be rising as fast as 1” a year. Parts of Miami Beach will be first to go underwater within 50 years, then the other costal cities will go underwater. Everyone will be moving inland.