Global Warming, Sustainability, and American Cities

I have done some recent posts on the whole global warming issue, which included a bit of a debate with someone who claimed that global warming had ended in 2005.

First, the good news. Here are a list of twelve cities all across these United States that are taking very active roles in trying to become greener. Led, not surprisingly, by some Pacific Northwest cities initially, it does nonetheless include some cities in the Midwest and Northeast, and even a liberal outpost in the traditional bulwark of conservatism known as Texas. Hell, even Utah's Salt Lake City was trying to get more environmentally friendly. Some fascinating stuff, and from a very respected and reliable source: Bill Moyer:

"12 Cities Leading the Way in Sustainability", posted on January 4, 2013:

http://billmoyers.com/content/12-cities-leading-the-way-in-sustainability/

And some more good news.

Here is a list of the top ten cities that should

(should)

be sitting pretty in a warming world. These include some surprises and, frankly, some cities that...well, let's face it: you and I might not actually consider "cities". Some of these, I had never heard of before, which makes you wonder why they are on a list with so many other prominent cities with instant name recognition.

Still, the point is made.

Here is the article "Spared by climate change: The 10 best cities to ride out hot times" by Jim Meyer of Grist.org:

http://grist.org/cities/spared-by-climate-change-the-10-best-cities-to-ride-out-hot-times/

Now, the bad news.

Here are a list of ten cities that evidently will be particularly hard hit by global warming. Among those included here would be one city that is listed in the above category, as well as another city mentioned in the above article - the one in Texas, since the whole state of Texas is included here.

So, here's my question: where is New Orleans on this list? I mean, there is a city that already was enormously, and adversely, affected by global warming! A huge chunk of it was submerged underwater after Hurricane Katrina, and many people simply left for good. To my understanding, it has not been completely rebuilt since, and whole sections of it remain empty. These days, every single time there is a hurricane that threatens to head towards New Orleans, there are fears and the inevitable comparisons with Katrina - fair or not!

I am guessing that they meant cities not already hugely affected, but which could be affected in the relatively near future. Otherwise, there's no way that New Orleans itself should have been kept off this list. That said, they mention how the newly constructed levee system in place there was enough to keep it off the list. we can only hope that they are right!

"Screwed by climate change: 10 cities that will be hardest hit" by Jim Meyer of Grist.org:

http://grist.org/cities/screwed-by-climate-change-10-cities-that-will-be-hardest-hit/