Doug Fox conducts his presentation: “NYC Takes on Climate Change.”

Based on his travels throughout the city for his new free 336-page ebook, “A Photo Guide to Climate Change in NYC”, his deep knowledge about the history of the city and conversations with many experts, Doug highlights what the city is doing right now to address a range of pressing climate change challenges.

If you want to know what climate change looks like in NYC, this presentation will give you the answers.

Doug delivers an engaging, interactive educational experience with all concepts described in a clear, jargon-free manner. He is independent-minded and shares different points of view about the best ways to address a wide range of climate change developments threatening our city. Please read reviews of Doug’s 2024 tours.

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Presentation Highlights

This presentation is available for many audiences: colleges and universities, high schools, nonprofits, advocacy organizations, government agencies and companies. It is worthwhile for groups with no connection to climate change and for professionals who work within the industry.

Format: Lecture or workshop. Sessions can be interactive with facilitated discussions.

Length: 45 minutes to two hours.

Customization: The purpose of this presentation is to give audiences a broad view of many developments taking place right now in NYC to combat climate change. Different topics can be emphasized to meet your needs.

Delivery: In-person or remote. If you are within New York City (or nearby) in-person programs are recommended.

Presentation Topics and Questions

Doug’s climate change presentation, “NYC Takes on Climate Change” covers a wide range of topics that parallel the chapters in his free digital publication: “A Photo Guide to Climate Change in NYC”.

Among the key questions answered (or answered to the extent possible - these are challenging issues) include:

• What are the most critical climate change projects New York City right now (in design, under construction or completed)? Why are they important and will they achieve their objectives?

• Is NYC moving fast enough on the climate change front both to adapt to changing weather patterns (for example, rising sea levels, intense storms and heat) and reduce our use of fossil fuels?

• Why is it critical that NYC do everything possible to grow and support a robust high-tech green economy with high-quality sustainable jobs?

• Given that the demand for electricity is rising, how can we both decarbonize our grid (replace fossil fuels with clean sources of energy) and generate enough power to meet demand?

• What have we done and not done to prepare for the next Superstorm Sandy? Same question about Hurricane Ida?

• Should we build large-scale barriers at the entrance to the Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound to protect the city from rising sea levels and storm surges, or should we focus on floodwalls and elevated parks along the shoreline?

• In terms of how we adapt to rising sea levels and more ferocious storms, which is better:  nature-based solutions or engineered solutions or both?

• What is the city doing to contend with hotter temperatures and extended periods of heat?

• Since buildings are our number one source of greenhouse gas emissions, what are we doing to reduce these emissions?

• What are the features and functionality of a green or sustainable building? What is energy efficiency? What is embodied carbon and operational carbon?

• What specifically is a disadvantaged community and environmental justice neighborhood, and what does it have to do with climate change? What are specific examples of climate change disparities in NYC?

• Why is stormwater infrastructure so important in NYC as we contend with more frequent, intense rain storms?

• How will increasing transportation of goods, produce, solid waste and recyclables on our waterways be beneficial for the climate, the environment and our roadways?

• How is climate change threatening our city’s old transportation infrastructure?

• How is NYC deprioritizing cars and reprioritizing people? How are we reconfiguring our streets, sidewalks and neighborhoods to create more livable neighborhoods and contend with the reality of climate change?

• Say NYC and the extended metropolitan area had to grow more of its own food? Could we scale-up our local food production and be much closer to self-sufficient? What would be the role of urban farms and vertical farms in this effort?