A notable uninvited guest, Hurricane Debby, arrived this month, and although the storm brought flooding to Savannah, including severe flooding to the Ogeechee River Basin, we’re lucky that it didn’t cause even more damage. Recall that as Debby approached, we were expecting up to 20 inches of rain in a single day. Such a deluge would have caused catastrophic flooding across our city, but, in a stroke of good luck, we saw only 8 inches of rain. As we’ve witnessed across the Coastal Empire, the impacts of Hurricane Debby are ongoing with our changing climate fueling extreme-weather events across the globe.
To be sure, climate change will affect different communities in different ways. Some will face extreme heat while others battle wildfires or contend with severe droughts and water scarcity issues. In Coastal Georgia, we face the opposite problem: Rather than having too little water owing to climate change, we’re often inundated with more than we can handle. Tropical storms and hurricanes are becoming stronger and more destructive, dumping more rain and carrying bigger storm surges. Meanwhile, sea levels are rising, and our coastline — thanks to a quirk of geology — is sinking into the sea, causing flooding even on sunny days.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
It was once thought that these would be problems for our children and grandchildren, not for us. But we know better by now. Hurricane Debby should serve as a reminder that climate change is not a threat on the horizon; it’s a present reality. Its consequences are being felt already in Coastal Georgia, and we — this generation — have as much to lose from inaction as those who come after us.
This is one of the reasons why the City of Savannah is investing as never before to improve our infrastructure and adapt to the impacts of extreme weather. Together with Chatham County, we’re investing $100 million to improve our drainage systems, including by widening canals, upgrading stormwater pumps and engineering dynamic solutions such as deep tunnel boring technologies 100 feet below ground to better conduct stormwater into the Casey Canal.
These projects, though underway, will take years to complete. It reminds me of the adage about planting trees: The best time to plant one was 20 years ago, but the second-best time is now. If we had made these investments in climate resilience decades ago, we would be better positioned today. But we can’t change the past. We can only redouble our current efforts and take the necessary steps now to keep Savannah livable for decades to come and preserve our community’s future.
Beyond merely adapting to a changing climate, we’re also working to address the problem at the source. With our Savannah 100 initiative, the city has pledged to transition to 100% clean, renewable energy by 2035. Since making the pledge, we’ve installed rooftop solar at 19 city facilities and are poised to become the largest municipal power producer (by megawatt-hours) in Georgia. This effort not only makes a difference for our planet, but it saves taxpayers money as well. These panels not only pay for themselves, but are revenue positive — freeing up your dollars to be invested across our community.
We’ve also worked overtime to lower the cost of rooftop solar for our residents, to provide these same benefits to everyday Savannahians as well. The city partnered with the nonprofit Georgia Bright to pilot and launch an innovative solar leasing program now being expanded across the state. This program leases panels to low- and middle-income families for an average of just $47 a month. saving homeowners 15% on their energy costs — making a big difference in the lives of everyday Georgians.
It should be noted that none of this would be possible without federal support. The Inflation Reduction Act, which passed two years ago this month, provides a tax credit that lowers the cost of solar panels by 30 percent. It was federal support that also provided a $156 million federal grant to expand Georgia Bright statewide to put these innovative measures that save working Georgians money possible.
No matter what happens in November, it’s important that we — as a country and as a community — maintain our commitment to addressing climate change in a responsible way. In Savannah, complacency isn’t on the table. Either we invest in community resilience and clean energy sources, or we resign ourselves to an unlivable Coastal Georgia. Those are the stakes.
As a local leader, you have my full commitment to move our city forward on solutions to protect our community. Let’s ensure that policymakers across our nation do the same.
Nick Palumbo represents District 4 on the Savannah City Council.
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