Ian exposes cracks in climate-readiness

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Oct 03, 2022 View in browser   By Arianna Skibell Presented by Chevron The destruction left in the wake of Hurricane Ian is shown Sunday in Fort Myers Beach, Fla. | Win McNamee/Getty Images The destruction left in Hurricane Ian's wake is staggering. The death toll has passed 80 people and is expected to rise. Search and rescue efforts are ongoing as Florida residents grapple with the aftermath of one of the most powerful storms to hit the country. Thousands of people were displaced and over 600,000 Florida customers remained without electricity as of Monday morning. National and city officials have already begun discussing how to rebuild southwestern Florida to withstand fierce hurricanes — a conversation taking center stage across the country as climate change turbocharges extreme weather. Some scientists and policy analysts have advocated for retreating altogether from barrier islands, whose natural ability to slow storm surges is hampered by development. As for noncoastal areas, residents of one inland town say its design could serve as a blueprint for future resilience against climate change. While hundreds of thousands of people across the state lost power, residents of Babcock Ranch kept the lights on. Babcock Ranch was specifically built to withstand hurricanes. The town's electricity is generated by a massive solar array, the streets are designed to flood so houses don't, and the landscaping along roads slows stormwater. There are also signs that preventive measures worked in other areas, and Floridians learned some hard lessons following previous hurricanes. New buildings constructed under updated, post-Hurricane Andrew codes fared better than older ones. And Florida's largest electric company said efforts to bury power lines underground and replace wooden poles with steel or concrete ones made a notable difference, as POLITICO's E&E News reporter Kristi E. Swartz wrote in a story today. "We are not really rebuilding our system as much as we thought we were going to," said Florida Power & Light Co. CEO Eric Silagy. But there is much more work to be done. Restoration crews have had to travel by airboats, kayaks and high-water vehicles to access substations. When it hit, Ian knocked out power for 2.6 million customers. Officials in Lee County, Fla., are also facing questions about why they didn't instruct people to evacuate earlier. The Gulf-front county was one of the hardest hit by the Category 4 storm. Ian destroyed at least one barrier island off the county's coast. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) told ABC News this weekend that the island is now uninhabitable. "Fort Myers Beach no longer exists. It will have to be rebuilt," he said. "It was a slice of old Florida that you can't recapture."   It's Monday — thank you for tuning into POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell.  Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to askibell@eenews.net.   A message from Chevron: At Chevron, we believe the fuels of the future can help power a brighter future. Find out how we're working to increase our hydrogen fuel production to help make heavy-duty transport lower carbon.   Listen to today's POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO's energy podcast: Annie Snider breaks down what the Supreme Court's upcoming debate on federal protection for bodies of water could mean for industry and the environment. Power Centers People line up to enter the Supreme Court to hear oral arguments Monday. | Francis Chung/E&E News Water wars The Supreme Court appeared reluctant to wrest wetlands permitting power from EPA in a dispute that could significantly reshape the scope of the Clean Water Act, write Pamela King and Hannah Northey. Wetlands act as carbon sinks, absorbing CO2 and filtering out chemicals, human waste and other pollutants. Disaster spending politics Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' about-face on federal disaster aid is the latest high-profile example of a politician reversing course when their community is the one reeling, writes Robin Bravender. On his second day as a congressman in 2013, DeSantis voted against a $9.7 billion spending bill to aid victims of Superstorm Sandy, which walloped the Eastern Seaboard in the fall of 2012. Puerto Rico funding President Joe Biden visited Puerto Rico on Monday to announce $60 million in funds from the bipartisan infrastructure law to build up the island's defenses against future storms, write Myah Ward, Christopher Cadelago and Gloria Gonzalez. The funding will aim to shore up levees, strengthen floodwalls and create a new flood warning system to better prepare Puerto Rico. In Other News A proposed direct air capture plant for pulling carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. | Carbon Engineering Ltd. Capture (some) carbon: The majority of 13 flagship carbon capture and storage schemes worldwide, representing 55 percent of captured carbon dioxide, have either failed entirely or captured much less CO2 than expected. "Don't look up" treatment: Oil company Chevron Corp. just got blasted for its contributions to climate change in a new spoof commercial from Adam McKay, the director of the movie "Don't Look Up." Question Corner The science, policy and politics driving the energy transition can feel miles away. But we're all affected on an individual and communal level — from hotter days and higher gas prices to home insurance rates and food supply. Want to know more? Send me your questions and I'll get you answers.   A message from Chevron:   Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Cars recharge at a fast charger station for electric vehicles in Pasadena, Calif. | Mario Tama/Getty Images Following in California's footsteps, New York has joined a growing list of states moving to ban the sale of new cars that run only on gasoline. The Energy Department is seeking public input on how best to use the Cold War-era Defense Production Act to spur domestic production of clean energy technologies. The record-smashing temperatures in the Pacific Northwest last year were an extraordinarily rare occurrence even in the age of climate change, a study found. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   A message from Chevron: Energy demand is growing. At Chevron, we believe that demand for lower carbon hydrogen fuel could more than triple by 2050. That's why we're working to grow our hydrogen production to 150,000 tonnes per year by 2030 to help make heavy-duty transport lower carbon. Because we believe the future of energy is lower carbon. And it's only human to reach for it.     Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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