00:00:01.920 --> 00:00:04.320
- It's not your imagination.

00:00:04.320 --> 00:00:08.101
The weather has taken
a turn for the extreme

00:00:08.101 --> 00:00:10.427
and the unpredictable.

00:00:10.427 --> 00:00:10.927
- Whoa!

00:00:10.927 --> 00:00:12.340


00:00:12.340 --> 00:00:15.730
- Spring blizzards
across the Maritimes,

00:00:15.730 --> 00:00:19.260
flash flooding in
Toronto, raging

00:00:19.260 --> 00:00:21.730
rivers in Manitoba and Alberta.

00:00:21.730 --> 00:00:25.850
- The flood water came fast,
catching many off-guard.

00:00:25.850 --> 00:00:28.275
- From horrendous
heat in Australia

00:00:28.275 --> 00:00:31.196
to record snowfall
in the Middle East,

00:00:31.196 --> 00:00:34.100
from catastrophic
drought in California

00:00:34.100 --> 00:00:37.004
to Hurricane Sandy
in New York City.

00:00:37.004 --> 00:00:41.360
- Sandy's wake has created
something unprecedented.

00:00:41.360 --> 00:00:42.990
- The climate has
changed, is changing,

00:00:42.990 --> 00:00:44.470
and will continue to change.

00:00:44.470 --> 00:00:47.310
We have to get on with
adaptation immediately.

00:00:47.310 --> 00:00:49.701
- Are you going to duck
the bullet that's coming?

00:00:49.701 --> 00:00:50.200
Alright?

00:00:50.200 --> 00:00:51.590
Or are you going to
stand there and let it

00:00:51.590 --> 00:00:52.130
hit you right in the forehead?

00:00:52.130 --> 00:00:53.344
I think I'm ducking.

00:00:53.344 --> 00:00:54.228


00:00:54.228 --> 00:00:56.526
- The future is here.

00:00:56.526 --> 00:00:58.470
Are we ready?

00:00:58.470 --> 00:01:01.858
(MUSIC PLAYING)

00:01:01.858 --> 00:01:02.358


00:01:02.358 --> 00:01:03.816
(THUNDERCLAP)

00:01:03.816 --> 00:01:09.660


00:01:09.660 --> 00:01:13.395
- It was as if a water bomb
smashed onto southern Alberta.

00:01:13.395 --> 00:01:15.810


00:01:15.810 --> 00:01:19.140
A massive weather system,
trapped by unusual wind

00:01:19.140 --> 00:01:23.490
patterns, exploded into three
days of torrential rain.

00:01:23.490 --> 00:01:26.050
- The Bow River looks like
an ocean at the moment.

00:01:26.050 --> 00:01:28.342
- At least a dozen
communities have

00:01:28.342 --> 00:01:30.692
declared states of emergency.

00:01:30.692 --> 00:01:31.870
(SIRENS)

00:01:31.870 --> 00:01:35.080
- The storm hit after a
cooler-than-usual spring,

00:01:35.080 --> 00:01:37.500
so the snowpack
was still melting.

00:01:37.500 --> 00:01:40.610
The record-breaking
deluge crashed onto ground

00:01:40.610 --> 00:01:42.155
that was already saturated.

00:01:42.155 --> 00:01:43.760


00:01:43.760 --> 00:01:44.710
- This is High River.

00:01:44.710 --> 00:01:48.560
Nearly the entire town is under.

00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:50.080
Businesses destroyed.

00:01:50.080 --> 00:01:52.400
Like Calgary, there
was very little warning

00:01:52.400 --> 00:01:54.910
and almost no
preparation here, leaving

00:01:54.910 --> 00:01:56.495
homes completely exposed.

00:01:56.495 --> 00:01:58.710


00:01:58.710 --> 00:02:03.900
- 75,000 people were
evacuated from the flood zone.

00:02:03.900 --> 00:02:05.570
All schools were closed.

00:02:05.570 --> 00:02:10.620
And the business district was
inaccessible for almost a week.

00:02:10.620 --> 00:02:12.697
Welcome to the new normal.

00:02:12.697 --> 00:02:16.106
(MUSIC PLAYING)

00:02:16.106 --> 00:02:17.460


00:02:17.460 --> 00:02:20.260
Across Canada, climate
change is causing

00:02:20.260 --> 00:02:24.320
extreme and
extraordinary weather.

00:02:24.320 --> 00:02:28.280
Warmer temperatures can produce
more violent weather patterns

00:02:28.280 --> 00:02:31.230
because there's more water
vapor in the atmosphere --

00:02:31.230 --> 00:02:35.660
7% more for every degree
of temperature rise.

00:02:35.660 --> 00:02:38.340
- And when that
water then condenses,

00:02:38.340 --> 00:02:42.760
gives off all that energy,
and that energy -- "woosh" --

00:02:42.760 --> 00:02:43.710
whips up the storms.

00:02:43.710 --> 00:02:45.270


00:02:45.270 --> 00:02:48.660
- By the year 2050 --
just 35 years from now --

00:02:48.660 --> 00:02:52.120
Canada can expect: double
the number of extremely heavy

00:02:52.120 --> 00:02:57.170
precipitation events with
periods of drought in between,

00:02:57.170 --> 00:03:00.850
five times as many hot
days over 30 degrees,

00:03:00.850 --> 00:03:06.490
100% increase in wildfires,
50% less snowfall across

00:03:06.490 --> 00:03:11.536
the prairies, more hail,
50% more ice storms,

00:03:11.536 --> 00:03:14.868
and more intense hurricanes.

00:03:14.868 --> 00:03:17.700
(THUNDER)

00:03:17.700 --> 00:03:18.200


00:03:18.200 --> 00:03:21.500
- We're probably one or two
major catastrophic events

00:03:21.500 --> 00:03:24.820
away from really bringing cities
onboard across the country

00:03:24.820 --> 00:03:26.680
to realize how dire
the situation is

00:03:26.680 --> 00:03:28.570
that we are currently in.

00:03:28.570 --> 00:03:31.280
- Catastrophic events
-- mostly weather --

00:03:31.280 --> 00:03:36.110
cost Canada roughly $1 billion
each year from 2010 to 2012.

00:03:36.110 --> 00:03:37.810


00:03:37.810 --> 00:03:40.910
In 2013, it shot
up to $8 billion.

00:03:40.910 --> 00:03:43.425
And costs will rise with
the Earth's temperature.

00:03:43.425 --> 00:03:46.430


00:03:46.430 --> 00:03:50.040
Around the world, the
buzzword is "adaptation,"

00:03:50.040 --> 00:03:52.730
as cities and citizens
scramble to get ready

00:03:52.730 --> 00:03:56.950
for wild weather resulting
from climate change.

00:03:56.950 --> 00:04:00.290
In New York, they're erecting
a system of barriers to protect

00:04:00.290 --> 00:04:03.360
the city from Atlantic storms...

00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:05.620
- Rebuilding stronger and
more resilient for the types

00:04:05.620 --> 00:04:07.900
of climate change risks
that we are facing.

00:04:07.900 --> 00:04:10.452
- ...and restocking the harbor
with oysters to slow storm

00:04:10.452 --> 00:04:12.770
surge.

00:04:12.770 --> 00:04:16.000
- We want to create a
system of preparedness.

00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:18.870
- In the Netherlands,
entire housing complexes

00:04:18.870 --> 00:04:20.772
are being designed to float.

00:04:20.772 --> 00:04:22.480


00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:24.600
In Toronto, they're
rushing to replace

00:04:24.600 --> 00:04:28.496
aging infrastructure in the
most vulnerable neighborhoods.

00:04:28.496 --> 00:04:31.210
- Until they actually do
the infrastructure repair,

00:04:31.210 --> 00:04:33.860
we're like sitting ducks.

00:04:33.860 --> 00:04:36.390
- In Calgary,
everything's changing:

00:04:36.390 --> 00:04:41.040
single home-building practices,
giant water diversion projects

00:04:41.040 --> 00:04:44.320
and, in some cases, retreat.

00:04:44.320 --> 00:04:46.690
- In the long run,
we need to step back

00:04:46.690 --> 00:04:47.760
from the water, really.

00:04:47.760 --> 00:04:50.320
- So the trick is, how do
we get ahead of the curve

00:04:50.320 --> 00:04:52.970
so we just don't simply have
a "management by disaster"

00:04:52.970 --> 00:04:53.470
scenario?

00:04:53.470 --> 00:04:56.490


00:04:56.490 --> 00:04:59.700
- Blair Feltmate, University
of Waterloo professor

00:04:59.700 --> 00:05:03.200
and concerned family man,
is chair of Canada's Climate

00:05:03.200 --> 00:05:05.230
Change Adaptation Project.

00:05:05.230 --> 00:05:08.670
Its goal: find practical,
cost-effective ways

00:05:08.670 --> 00:05:11.730
to lessen the impact
of climate change.

00:05:11.730 --> 00:05:14.370
- It's mission-critical
for the country.

00:05:14.370 --> 00:05:16.510
We have to weather-harden
the system.

00:05:16.510 --> 00:05:18.470
Climate change will
continue to happen.

00:05:18.470 --> 00:05:20.200
We need to figure
out, well, what are we

00:05:20.200 --> 00:05:21.115
going to do about it?

00:05:21.115 --> 00:05:23.200


00:05:23.200 --> 00:05:27.210
- After the floods of 2013,
Albertans were suddenly thrust

00:05:27.210 --> 00:05:29.601
head-first into climate
change adaptation.

00:05:29.601 --> 00:05:33.370


00:05:33.370 --> 00:05:35.800
Even though she just
bought a house only a block

00:05:35.800 --> 00:05:38.950
from the Elbow River in
Calgary, Jocelyn Rempel

00:05:38.950 --> 00:05:41.490
didn't expect to
ever be flooded out

00:05:41.490 --> 00:05:44.200
since her partner had done his
homework before they purchased.

00:05:44.200 --> 00:05:47.410


00:05:47.410 --> 00:05:49.200
- He actually looked
at the previous flood

00:05:49.200 --> 00:05:50.790
fringe and the floodway.

00:05:50.790 --> 00:05:53.090
And it's never flooded in
this area in the 100 years

00:05:53.090 --> 00:05:54.881
that it's been built.
It was built in 1911.

00:05:54.881 --> 00:05:56.200


00:05:56.200 --> 00:05:58.930
- But in the great
June 2013 flood,

00:05:58.930 --> 00:06:03.280
their house was in the way of
the now-mighty Elbow River,

00:06:03.280 --> 00:06:06.000
pummeling debris
against their home.

00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:08.170
- It was coming on
strong from the river.

00:06:08.170 --> 00:06:10.888
For two days straight, it just
came pounding toward the house.

00:06:10.888 --> 00:06:12.980


00:06:12.980 --> 00:06:16.030
- It was three days before
Jocelyn could finally

00:06:16.030 --> 00:06:17.908
get back into her home.

00:06:17.908 --> 00:06:20.248
(DISTRESSED BREATHING)

00:06:20.248 --> 00:06:21.196


00:06:21.196 --> 00:06:22.070
- It was devastating.

00:06:22.070 --> 00:06:23.420
Everything was everywhere.

00:06:23.420 --> 00:06:26.837
It was just muddy and dirty.

00:06:26.837 --> 00:06:28.304
(DISTRESSED BREATHING)

00:06:28.304 --> 00:06:30.260


00:06:30.260 --> 00:06:33.080
- Jocelyn and her partner
caught a lucky break.

00:06:33.080 --> 00:06:35.850
An architect saw her on
the news and volunteered

00:06:35.850 --> 00:06:39.390
to design a new,
flood-proof house.

00:06:39.390 --> 00:06:42.090
- He put the mechanical
room up on the top floor.

00:06:42.090 --> 00:06:44.809
So that way, if another
flood were to come,

00:06:44.809 --> 00:06:47.100
then we're not going to have
the furnace, the hot water

00:06:47.100 --> 00:06:48.590
heater, the electrical
panel, we're

00:06:48.590 --> 00:06:50.610
not going to have
that in the basement.

00:06:50.610 --> 00:06:54.320
- Now they have to figure
out how to pay for it all.

00:06:54.320 --> 00:06:56.650
- We didn't get
coverage from insurance.

00:06:56.650 --> 00:06:58.480
They considered it
overland flooding.

00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:02.000
So as you know, Canada
doesn't cover that.

00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:03.260


00:07:03.260 --> 00:07:06.200
- Unlike the US, in
Canada you can't generally

00:07:06.200 --> 00:07:08.020
buy flood insurance
for water that

00:07:08.020 --> 00:07:11.480
comes into the house overland
through doors and windows,

00:07:11.480 --> 00:07:14.390
as opposed to up
from the sewer pipes.

00:07:14.390 --> 00:07:17.640
It isn't a sinister plot on the
part of insurance companies.

00:07:17.640 --> 00:07:21.360
There simply wasn't a market
for it here -- until now.

00:07:21.360 --> 00:07:23.410


00:07:23.410 --> 00:07:27.140
Of the $6 billion cleanup
bill from the Alberta floods,

00:07:27.140 --> 00:07:31.790
only $1.7 billion was insured,
leaving the rest for property

00:07:31.790 --> 00:07:32.840
owners and governments.

00:07:32.840 --> 00:07:36.350


00:07:36.350 --> 00:07:40.560
No surprise, suddenly in Calgary
building better is in vogue.

00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:45.220
And master builder Murray
Pound is in demand.

00:07:45.220 --> 00:07:47.600
- We're seeing more and
more water in Alberta.

00:07:47.600 --> 00:07:51.780
And so we have to create
strategies to deal with that.

00:07:51.780 --> 00:07:55.410
Very small details can
cause a lot of damage.

00:07:55.410 --> 00:07:59.810
And if those little details
aren't done correctly,

00:07:59.810 --> 00:08:00.890
it can be catastrophic.

00:08:00.890 --> 00:08:02.240


00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:06.210
- Murray is full of practical
advice for homeowners:

00:08:06.210 --> 00:08:09.560
proper window flashing and
correctly installed drain

00:08:09.560 --> 00:08:15.580
spouts, water alarms,
check valves, sump pumps,

00:08:15.580 --> 00:08:19.285
and the all-important
backwater valve.

00:08:19.285 --> 00:08:22.020
(SOUND OF JACKHAMMER)
In an existing home,

00:08:22.020 --> 00:08:24.280
backwater valves can be
expensive to install.

00:08:24.280 --> 00:08:26.780


00:08:26.780 --> 00:08:29.160
But in flood-prone
areas, they still

00:08:29.160 --> 00:08:30.920
cost less than the flood damage.

00:08:30.920 --> 00:08:33.020


00:08:33.020 --> 00:08:34.600
- Without that
protection, there's

00:08:34.600 --> 00:08:37.969
really nothing disconnecting
you from the sewer

00:08:37.969 --> 00:08:38.760
into your basement.

00:08:38.760 --> 00:08:42.590


00:08:42.590 --> 00:08:44.370
I get it, it's not sexy.

00:08:44.370 --> 00:08:45.115
It's not granite.

00:08:45.115 --> 00:08:46.240
It's not hardwood flooring.

00:08:46.240 --> 00:08:47.200
It's not a fireplace.

00:08:47.200 --> 00:08:48.970
I understand that.

00:08:48.970 --> 00:08:51.515
But if we don't
do that, you know

00:08:51.515 --> 00:08:54.080
that sewage water in your
basement's not sexy, either.

00:08:54.080 --> 00:08:56.530
(MUSIC PLAYING)

00:08:56.530 --> 00:08:59.620
- To keep water away from
homes in the first place,

00:08:59.620 --> 00:09:01.670
the city of Calgary
and the province

00:09:01.670 --> 00:09:05.630
are developing projects to
divert water and save it to be

00:09:05.630 --> 00:09:08.145
used later during droughts.

00:09:08.145 --> 00:09:09.990
- This one has a
bigger catchment area.

00:09:09.990 --> 00:09:12.100
So it'll be more effective.

00:09:12.100 --> 00:09:15.630
- One mega project
diverts water upstream --

00:09:15.630 --> 00:09:19.590
far from any towns -- to a lake,
where it can be released later

00:09:19.590 --> 00:09:21.660
at a controlled rate.

00:09:21.660 --> 00:09:25.420
Another project diverts overflow
from the Glenmore Reservoir

00:09:25.420 --> 00:09:30.930
so it flows safely under
Calgary and into the Bow River.

00:09:30.930 --> 00:09:33.780
They're large-scale,
expensive projects.

00:09:33.780 --> 00:09:35.700
But they'll almost
certainly be needed

00:09:35.700 --> 00:09:38.133
as the weather gets wilder.

00:09:38.133 --> 00:09:42.110
- It would be foolhardy not to
put the money into adaptation.

00:09:42.110 --> 00:09:45.494
Because that kind of flood
will happen again and again

00:09:45.494 --> 00:09:46.410
in the coming climate.

00:09:46.410 --> 00:09:48.280


00:09:48.280 --> 00:09:52.040
- Gordon McBean knows as much
as or more about climate change

00:09:52.040 --> 00:09:54.530
than any person on Earth.

00:09:54.530 --> 00:09:57.180
As the first Canadian to
head the International

00:09:57.180 --> 00:09:59.910
Council for Science
in over 40 years,

00:09:59.910 --> 00:10:02.630
McBean's mission is to
lead us toward policies

00:10:02.630 --> 00:10:06.120
that both slow climate
change and help us adapt

00:10:06.120 --> 00:10:07.670
to what's already under way.

00:10:07.670 --> 00:10:11.020


00:10:11.020 --> 00:10:14.290
- If we don't do something
about reducing our vulnerability

00:10:14.290 --> 00:10:18.110
and exposure, we are going
to see very large economic,

00:10:18.110 --> 00:10:21.360
but, even more importantly,
social-cultural health effects

00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:23.530
on Canadians and people
around the world.

00:10:23.530 --> 00:10:25.270


00:10:25.270 --> 00:10:28.430
- But spending money on climate
change adaptation is often

00:10:28.430 --> 00:10:31.620
a problem for governments, since
the future benefit won't be

00:10:31.620 --> 00:10:34.835
obvious to voters -- unless
they've already lived through

00:10:34.835 --> 00:10:37.210
a disaster.

00:10:37.210 --> 00:10:40.640
Yet even conservative estimates
say that for every dollar spent

00:10:40.640 --> 00:10:43.540
now on adaptation,
$6 will be saved

00:10:43.540 --> 00:10:45.235
when wild weather does strike.

00:10:45.235 --> 00:10:47.080


00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:49.530
- I think we can adapt
to many of these things

00:10:49.530 --> 00:10:52.245
by redesigning of our
own homes, redesigning

00:10:52.245 --> 00:10:54.560
of our municipal
infrastructures.

00:10:54.560 --> 00:10:58.960
But in some cases, the
necessity will be to withdraw.

00:10:58.960 --> 00:11:01.630


00:11:01.630 --> 00:11:06.550
- After 2013, retreat was one of
Alberta's major climate change

00:11:06.550 --> 00:11:08.345
adaptations.

00:11:08.345 --> 00:11:11.430
People living on floodways, like
the Wallaceville neighborhood

00:11:11.430 --> 00:11:15.120
of High River, never
went home again.

00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:17.160
- We made the very
difficult decision

00:11:17.160 --> 00:11:19.742
to purchase all of the
homes in Wallaceville

00:11:19.742 --> 00:11:21.700
and return that area to
the river, essentially.

00:11:21.700 --> 00:11:23.700


00:11:23.700 --> 00:11:27.110
- We almost have to weigh these
things on an individual basis.

00:11:27.110 --> 00:11:29.330
But at the end of
the day, people

00:11:29.330 --> 00:11:31.330
can't pretend the
problem doesn't exist.

00:11:31.330 --> 00:11:33.096
If you try to cheat
it, you'll get caught.

00:11:33.096 --> 00:11:35.012
And you'll get caught
in the form of flooding.

00:11:35.012 --> 00:11:38.230
(MUSIC PLAYING)

00:11:38.230 --> 00:11:38.710


00:11:38.710 --> 00:11:40.585
- On the lower lakes,
it may stretch out more

00:11:40.585 --> 00:11:42.293
and there might be
more isolated showers.

00:11:42.293 --> 00:11:44.900
But this is definitely solid.

00:11:44.900 --> 00:11:47.850
- At Ontario's Environment
Canada Prediction Centre,

00:11:47.850 --> 00:11:49.940
they continuously
gather information

00:11:49.940 --> 00:11:52.770
from hundreds of observation
sites around the province,

00:11:52.770 --> 00:11:57.010
trying to stay one step
ahead of the storm.

00:11:57.010 --> 00:11:59.520
- The crux of our job is
really providing Canadians

00:11:59.520 --> 00:12:02.050
with as much lead time as
possible for severe storms.

00:12:02.050 --> 00:12:03.484
(THUNDERCLAP)

00:12:03.484 --> 00:12:04.920
(MUSIC PLAYING)

00:12:04.920 --> 00:12:08.866
- But some weather systems
give little warning.

00:12:08.866 --> 00:12:10.740
- For severe thunderstorms,
it may be only 25

00:12:10.740 --> 00:12:13.360
or 30 minutes advanced notice.

00:12:13.360 --> 00:12:15.170
As we go forward in
the coming decades,

00:12:15.170 --> 00:12:17.380
we're looking at longer
periods of drought

00:12:17.380 --> 00:12:21.392
in the spring and summer,
punctuated by heavy rainfalls.

00:12:21.392 --> 00:12:24.290
If Toronto normally got
about 75 millimeters of rain

00:12:24.290 --> 00:12:26.100
in the month of
July, we may still

00:12:26.100 --> 00:12:29.322
get 75 millimeters of rain, but
it may all happen in one day.

00:12:29.322 --> 00:12:32.120
(MUSIC PLAYING)

00:12:32.120 --> 00:12:35.580
- Actually, that's already
happened, and then some --

00:12:35.580 --> 00:12:40.585
on July 8, 2013 when two major
thunderstorms collided over

00:12:40.585 --> 00:12:44.640
Toronto, dumping a
record-breaking 126 millimeters

00:12:44.640 --> 00:12:48.250
of water, creating flash
flooding and chaos.

00:12:48.250 --> 00:12:51.660
(MUSIC PLAYING)

00:12:51.660 --> 00:12:52.160


00:12:52.160 --> 00:12:56.510
It was all made so much worse
by the city's sea of concrete.

00:12:56.510 --> 00:12:58.860
Unable to be absorbed,
the rainwater

00:12:58.860 --> 00:13:00.560
rushed through the streets.

00:13:00.560 --> 00:13:02.830
Ultimately, the storm
would cost Toronto

00:13:02.830 --> 00:13:05.600
just under a billion dollars.

00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:08.050
(SIREN)

00:13:08.050 --> 00:13:09.520
(HELICOPTER)

00:13:09.520 --> 00:13:13.000
It wasn't the first disastrous
flood to hit Toronto.

00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:15.630
They'd already had their
"storm of the century"

00:13:15.630 --> 00:13:19.800
in 1954, when Hurricane Hazel
swept through southern Ontario.

00:13:19.800 --> 00:13:21.648


00:13:21.648 --> 00:13:25.120
- With rainfall reaching
almost 7 inches in places,

00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:29.360
some rivers ran as much as 16
feet above their normal level.

00:13:29.360 --> 00:13:32.554
- An entire street was wiped
out as the Humber River

00:13:32.554 --> 00:13:34.974
cut a new and permanent course.

00:13:34.974 --> 00:13:39.690
- More than 40 highways and
main roads are under water.

00:13:39.690 --> 00:13:42.920
- Hazel woke Ontario up.

00:13:42.920 --> 00:13:45.560
The province formed
conservation authorities

00:13:45.560 --> 00:13:48.050
to manage watersheds.

00:13:48.050 --> 00:13:51.460
- One of the things they did
is they built dam structures

00:13:51.460 --> 00:13:53.910
on major water courses
throughout the province.

00:13:53.910 --> 00:13:56.430
During high rain
events, water can

00:13:56.430 --> 00:13:59.000
be held back, then discharged
over longer periods of time.

00:13:59.000 --> 00:14:01.120


00:14:01.120 --> 00:14:03.860
- Water levels are now
constantly monitored.

00:14:03.860 --> 00:14:05.180
- OK.

00:14:05.180 --> 00:14:07.860
- Remote sensing devices
measure water volume.

00:14:07.860 --> 00:14:10.180


00:14:10.180 --> 00:14:14.410
After Hurricane Hazel, along
the Don and Humber waterways,

00:14:14.410 --> 00:14:17.730
the city simply expropriated
houses, leaving room

00:14:17.730 --> 00:14:18.700
for the river to flood.

00:14:18.700 --> 00:14:21.630


00:14:21.630 --> 00:14:25.530
Today, where the Humber River
took out a whole neighborhood,

00:14:25.530 --> 00:14:30.660
there's a park and a reminder
of how high the river can get.

00:14:30.660 --> 00:14:33.492


00:14:33.492 --> 00:14:36.800
(MUSIC PLAYING)

00:14:36.800 --> 00:14:40.720
So Canada's largest city had
already taken drastic measures

00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:42.580
to manage waterways.

00:14:42.580 --> 00:14:47.310
But in the 2013 storm, over
99% of the homes flooded

00:14:47.310 --> 00:14:52.210
were not in any of the
predicted flood zones.

00:14:52.210 --> 00:14:55.850
More people, more
concrete, more storms --

00:14:55.850 --> 00:14:59.165
our city's aging drains and
sewers just can't keep up.

00:14:59.165 --> 00:15:03.010


00:15:03.010 --> 00:15:05.380
- This past year was
like the motherlode.

00:15:05.380 --> 00:15:07.310


00:15:07.310 --> 00:15:09.835
It was just crazy.

00:15:09.835 --> 00:15:12.160
- Bev Silva's North
York neighborhood --

00:15:12.160 --> 00:15:16.280
miles from any river -- had
three floods in one year due

00:15:16.280 --> 00:15:19.700
to a chronic problem
with sewers backing up.

00:15:19.700 --> 00:15:23.190
- Nobody could predict it, and
nobody was prepared for it.

00:15:23.190 --> 00:15:26.610
And they were in shock.

00:15:26.610 --> 00:15:29.260
- The water level was actually
-- if I could just show you --

00:15:29.260 --> 00:15:30.676
it was actually
about this height.

00:15:30.676 --> 00:15:32.320


00:15:32.320 --> 00:15:34.240
- We've done it three
times now since May.

00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:37.150
And on the end of
it, the wife and I,

00:15:37.150 --> 00:15:38.525
we heard the fridge
tipping over.

00:15:38.525 --> 00:15:40.870
And I looked down, I
said, "Hon', the fridge

00:15:40.870 --> 00:15:41.703
is floating around."

00:15:41.703 --> 00:15:44.750
She says, "Get the whiskey."

00:15:44.750 --> 00:15:48.350
- After three flood claims,
Bev Silva's insurance was

00:15:48.350 --> 00:15:49.510
cancelled.

00:15:49.510 --> 00:15:53.440
She decided to get out
before the next one.

00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:55.370
- So how high was
your water when...

00:15:55.370 --> 00:15:56.620
- I'd say about right here.

00:15:56.620 --> 00:16:00.730
- I can't live with the thought
of it happening again and not

00:16:00.730 --> 00:16:03.300
having the proper coverage.

00:16:03.300 --> 00:16:06.510
So I've put my
house up for sale.

00:16:06.510 --> 00:16:08.870
- Even though she
disclosed the flooding,

00:16:08.870 --> 00:16:10.960
in Toronto's hot
real estate market

00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:14.230
Bev was actually able to
sell her home quickly.

00:16:14.230 --> 00:16:16.050
- What a good boy.

00:16:16.050 --> 00:16:18.160
- Bev's neighbors
hang on for now,

00:16:18.160 --> 00:16:21.966
still waiting for the city
to upgrade drainage systems.

00:16:21.966 --> 00:16:23.710
(MUSIC PLAYING)

00:16:23.710 --> 00:16:26.730
Staying ahead of the storms
is further complicated

00:16:26.730 --> 00:16:29.780
by Toronto's phenomenal growth.

00:16:29.780 --> 00:16:33.330
Infrastructure upgrading,
including electrical systems,

00:16:33.330 --> 00:16:36.080
just hasn't kept up.

00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:38.380
- Toronto only has a
couple of feeder lines

00:16:38.380 --> 00:16:40.720
to bring electricity
into the city.

00:16:40.720 --> 00:16:44.006
And if one of them gets knocked
out, which happened in 2013,

00:16:44.006 --> 00:16:45.380
you can end up
with half the city

00:16:45.380 --> 00:16:46.700
without electricity supply.

00:16:46.700 --> 00:16:48.590


00:16:48.590 --> 00:16:50.530
- With Toronto
booming, there are now

00:16:50.530 --> 00:16:54.080
a quarter of a million condo
units just in the downtown

00:16:54.080 --> 00:16:55.110
core.

00:16:55.110 --> 00:16:58.260
Imagine being on the 35th
floor on a hot summer day when

00:16:58.260 --> 00:17:02.400
a flash flood takes out the
power grid -- no elevators,

00:17:02.400 --> 00:17:05.349
no fridge, no air conditioning.

00:17:05.349 --> 00:17:07.944
A modern city meets
aging infrastructure.

00:17:07.944 --> 00:17:10.599


00:17:10.599 --> 00:17:13.740
Across the entire country,
electrical upgrades

00:17:13.740 --> 00:17:17.800
must include much stronger
lines to withstand ice storms.

00:17:17.800 --> 00:17:19.560
And equipment in
underground vaults

00:17:19.560 --> 00:17:23.240
needs to be sealed
against flooding.

00:17:23.240 --> 00:17:26.440
It's an expensive undertaking.

00:17:26.440 --> 00:17:29.125
- I would expect it's going
to be more than $350 billion.

00:17:29.125 --> 00:17:31.780
But to have a resilient,
reliable system

00:17:31.780 --> 00:17:33.030
you can count on is worth it.

00:17:33.030 --> 00:17:36.230
Because one thing
people really value

00:17:36.230 --> 00:17:38.330
is that the lights go on
when you flip the switch.

00:17:38.330 --> 00:17:40.940


00:17:40.940 --> 00:17:42.950
- But when the
skies open up, it's

00:17:42.950 --> 00:17:45.990
not only building better
that will save the day.

00:17:45.990 --> 00:17:50.250
The best-prepared cities are
also learning to unbuild --

00:17:50.250 --> 00:17:53.770
replacing concrete with more
permeable materials so water

00:17:53.770 --> 00:17:59.520
can be absorbed, preserving or
rebuilding natural wetlands,

00:17:59.520 --> 00:18:02.700
as Toronto is doing with various
river and stream restoration

00:18:02.700 --> 00:18:03.420
projects.

00:18:03.420 --> 00:18:06.760
(MUSIC PLAYING)

00:18:06.760 --> 00:18:09.970
- Just maintaining the natural
ecology along the banks

00:18:09.970 --> 00:18:12.540
of river courses and leaving
them with their natural,

00:18:12.540 --> 00:18:15.680
meandering-type flow -- in
and of itself is a very,

00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:18.044
very effective means of
mitigating potential flood

00:18:18.044 --> 00:18:18.544
events.

00:18:18.544 --> 00:18:20.864
(GEESE HONKING)

00:18:20.864 --> 00:18:22.720


00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:25.940
- Effective in times
of heavy rainfall;

00:18:25.940 --> 00:18:30.400
not quite enough when a storm
coming at you is a hurricane.

00:18:30.400 --> 00:18:33.355
After Sandy, New York gets
serious about weatherproofing

00:18:33.355 --> 00:18:38.610
-- from storm surge barriers
and dikes to breeding oysters

00:18:38.610 --> 00:18:40.600
to save the city.

00:18:40.600 --> 00:18:43.125
- The goal by 2030 is to
bring 1 billion oysters back

00:18:43.125 --> 00:18:44.262
to New York Harbor.

00:18:44.262 --> 00:18:48.546


00:18:48.546 --> 00:18:51.878
(OMINOUS MUSIC)

00:18:51.878 --> 00:18:52.840


00:18:52.840 --> 00:18:56.730
- When Hurricane Sandy hit New
York City in October of 2012,

00:18:56.730 --> 00:18:59.366
it was a startling wake-up call.

00:18:59.366 --> 00:19:01.706
(WAVES CRASHING)

00:19:01.706 --> 00:19:03.580
(SIREN)

00:19:03.580 --> 00:19:07.105
- 8 million people -- a
record -- are without power.

00:19:07.105 --> 00:19:09.480
(WATER SPLASHING)

00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:11.380


00:19:11.380 --> 00:19:13.970
- It wasn't that New York
was totally unprepared

00:19:13.970 --> 00:19:15.790
for climate change.

00:19:15.790 --> 00:19:18.960
They've had a plan
in place since 2007.

00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:21.160
But Sandy still
caught them off guard.

00:19:21.160 --> 00:19:24.100


00:19:24.100 --> 00:19:26.640
The largest Atlantic
hurricane in history

00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:30.000
had weakened considerably
before it hit the Big Apple.

00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:34.370
But the storm surge came during
a very high tide and flooded

00:19:34.370 --> 00:19:37.210
some of the most populous
and expensive real estate

00:19:37.210 --> 00:19:42.685
on the continent -- $19 billion
of damage to New York City

00:19:42.685 --> 00:19:43.185
alone.

00:19:43.185 --> 00:19:45.190


00:19:45.190 --> 00:19:47.780
Most of the city's
44 deaths were people

00:19:47.780 --> 00:19:49.260
who drowned in the storm surge.

00:19:49.260 --> 00:19:51.360


00:19:51.360 --> 00:19:54.520
The little community of
Ocean Breeze on Staten Island

00:19:54.520 --> 00:19:57.020
was hit hard, since there
was nothing between it

00:19:57.020 --> 00:19:59.110
and 14 feet of rushing water.

00:19:59.110 --> 00:20:04.680


00:20:04.680 --> 00:20:07.180
The big guy you see out the
window in the raging waters

00:20:07.180 --> 00:20:09.640
is Frank Moszczynski
trying to rescue someone

00:20:09.640 --> 00:20:10.775
during the storm surge.

00:20:10.775 --> 00:20:16.030


00:20:16.030 --> 00:20:19.770
Frank is a newcomer to the
Ocean Breeze neighborhood --

00:20:19.770 --> 00:20:22.920
only been here 43 years.

00:20:22.920 --> 00:20:26.630
- For us here in Ocean Breeze --
not that I would have been able

00:20:26.630 --> 00:20:28.880
to get here for a few days
-- but this would have been

00:20:28.880 --> 00:20:31.400
our water level right here.

00:20:31.400 --> 00:20:34.820
- Ocean Breeze residents are
faced with a tough choice:

00:20:34.820 --> 00:20:39.120
either build back
better, or retreat.

00:20:39.120 --> 00:20:42.520
- I've been told by a
geologist this storm was

00:20:42.520 --> 00:20:45.320
the 1 in 700 year storm.

00:20:45.320 --> 00:20:50.010
Irene, before, technically,
a 1 in 300 year storm.

00:20:50.010 --> 00:20:52.690
Spring floods the year
before that, 1 in 100 years.

00:20:52.690 --> 00:20:56.960
So in roughly 3 and 1/2 years,
we had 1,100 years of storms?

00:20:56.960 --> 00:20:59.420
There's a problem.

00:20:59.420 --> 00:21:01.650
- The community could be
eligible for government

00:21:01.650 --> 00:21:03.490
buyouts.

00:21:03.490 --> 00:21:06.350
But not everybody wants to go.

00:21:06.350 --> 00:21:09.450
- I came here when I
was four months old.

00:21:09.450 --> 00:21:12.860
And I'm 82.

00:21:12.860 --> 00:21:16.025
So, I've been here ever since.

00:21:16.025 --> 00:21:18.250
(HUMMING)

00:21:18.250 --> 00:21:20.460
- Mary had heard
storm warnings before.

00:21:20.460 --> 00:21:22.530
So as Sandy
approached, she simply

00:21:22.530 --> 00:21:26.210
decided to weather
it out upstairs.

00:21:26.210 --> 00:21:30.120
- And when I looked
over the steps...

00:21:30.120 --> 00:21:33.790
the water is coming up
higher and higher and higher.

00:21:33.790 --> 00:21:38.180
And my things in the kitchen
are floating all over the place.

00:21:38.180 --> 00:21:42.750
So I went back upstairs and
put on a portable radio,

00:21:42.750 --> 00:21:44.910
and I went to sleep.

00:21:44.910 --> 00:21:45.760
So...

00:21:45.760 --> 00:21:48.940
what else could I do?

00:21:48.940 --> 00:21:51.330
- Six generations
of Mary's family

00:21:51.330 --> 00:21:53.360
have lived in Ocean Breeze.

00:21:53.360 --> 00:21:55.380
Her grandson is just next door.

00:21:55.380 --> 00:21:58.300
So Mary's staying put,
even if she can no longer

00:21:58.300 --> 00:21:59.145
get flood insurance.

00:21:59.145 --> 00:22:00.880


00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:02.380
- This is my home.

00:22:02.380 --> 00:22:04.020
You can't...

00:22:04.020 --> 00:22:05.594
unless you drag
me out, you aren't

00:22:05.594 --> 00:22:06.760
going to get me out of here.

00:22:06.760 --> 00:22:08.900


00:22:08.900 --> 00:22:13.840
- Since Sandy, New York has
updated its floodplain map.

00:22:13.840 --> 00:22:15.390
- We now have almost
400,000 people

00:22:15.390 --> 00:22:17.390
living in the floodplain
in New York City, which

00:22:17.390 --> 00:22:19.740
is more than any other
city in the United States

00:22:19.740 --> 00:22:21.800
by the number of people.

00:22:21.800 --> 00:22:24.060
- Climate change
modeling for 2050

00:22:24.060 --> 00:22:26.240
doesn't improve the picture.

00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:29.630
With sea level rise,
increasingly intense storm

00:22:29.630 --> 00:22:32.850
surges threaten to engulf
even more of the city.

00:22:32.850 --> 00:22:37.090
And by the turn of the century,
the picture is shocking.

00:22:37.090 --> 00:22:42.380
Still, deserting the Big Apple
is unimaginable to New Yorkers.

00:22:42.380 --> 00:22:45.722
Retreat is not really
a great option.

00:22:45.722 --> 00:22:47.180
One, there's too
many people living

00:22:47.180 --> 00:22:48.669
in the floodplain in the city.

00:22:48.669 --> 00:22:51.210
And two, we think we can make
the right investments to reduce

00:22:51.210 --> 00:22:53.630
that risk to a manageable level.

00:22:53.630 --> 00:22:55.550
- But it won't be cheap.

00:22:55.550 --> 00:22:57.680
Every building in
New York City needs

00:22:57.680 --> 00:23:00.125
to rethink its
relationship with water.

00:23:00.125 --> 00:23:03.380


00:23:03.380 --> 00:23:06.000
The Whitney, New York's
world-famous museum

00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:08.750
of American art, had
already started construction

00:23:08.750 --> 00:23:12.175
at a new location on the Hudson
River before Hurricane Sandy.

00:23:12.175 --> 00:23:14.350


00:23:14.350 --> 00:23:16.260
- We always knew we
were in floodplain.

00:23:16.260 --> 00:23:19.240
We would build this
at the 500-year flood

00:23:19.240 --> 00:23:21.350
mark, which was higher
than actually almost

00:23:21.350 --> 00:23:22.930
anything in the neighborhood.

00:23:22.930 --> 00:23:24.810
(OMINOUS MUSIC)

00:23:24.810 --> 00:23:26.220
(WAVES CRASHING)

00:23:26.220 --> 00:23:29.160
- But when Sandy hit, the
construction site was swamped.

00:23:29.160 --> 00:23:32.060


00:23:32.060 --> 00:23:34.590
So director Adam
Weinberg and his team

00:23:34.590 --> 00:23:37.670
redesigned the building to
withstand wilder weather

00:23:37.670 --> 00:23:40.120
than they had ever imagined.

00:23:40.120 --> 00:23:41.830
- So this whole
wall is waterproof.

00:23:41.830 --> 00:23:43.540


00:23:43.540 --> 00:23:45.840
- Since they're protecting
important American art,

00:23:45.840 --> 00:23:47.340
they had to go big.

00:23:47.340 --> 00:23:50.300
Go big, or go under.

00:23:50.300 --> 00:23:53.060
- Any point of vulnerability
renders any million-dollar

00:23:53.060 --> 00:23:54.920
system that you have
completely futile.

00:23:54.920 --> 00:23:56.560


00:23:56.560 --> 00:24:01.400
- The new, hopefully storm-proof
Whitney includes watertight

00:24:01.400 --> 00:24:05.790
gates like those in a submarine,
the overall site raised 16

00:24:05.790 --> 00:24:09.060
and 1/2 feet above
the Hudson River,

00:24:09.060 --> 00:24:12.750
and a waterproof wall between
the Whitney and future storm

00:24:12.750 --> 00:24:13.855
surges.

00:24:13.855 --> 00:24:16.050
- It's a little bit
like the Russian doll.

00:24:16.050 --> 00:24:17.754
To keep that one
piece of art safe,

00:24:17.754 --> 00:24:19.170
you have to keep
the gallery safe.

00:24:19.170 --> 00:24:20.900
To keep the gallery safe, you
have to keep the building safe.

00:24:20.900 --> 00:24:22.275
To keep the building
safe, you've

00:24:22.275 --> 00:24:24.500
got to keep the perimeter safe.

00:24:24.500 --> 00:24:26.000
- There's a catch.

00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:28.560
Since they want the
museum to be welcoming,

00:24:28.560 --> 00:24:30.740
the bunker-like
perimeter wall only

00:24:30.740 --> 00:24:34.100
goes up if there's a
major storm on the way.

00:24:34.100 --> 00:24:37.310
So they're betting on
getting enough warning.

00:24:37.310 --> 00:24:41.250
- We are anticipating it
will take 20 people 10 hours

00:24:41.250 --> 00:24:41.945
to deploy.

00:24:41.945 --> 00:24:44.590


00:24:44.590 --> 00:24:48.620
- With $20 million spent
just on storm proofing,

00:24:48.620 --> 00:24:50.620
the Whitney has become
the poster child

00:24:50.620 --> 00:24:52.207
for how to do it right.

00:24:52.207 --> 00:24:54.790
- We're very proud that we were
on the cutting edge of this --

00:24:54.790 --> 00:24:56.330
not something we had planned.

00:24:56.330 --> 00:24:59.150
We planned to be on the
cutting edge of green museums.

00:24:59.150 --> 00:25:01.530
But we never expected to be
on the cutting edge of flood.

00:25:01.530 --> 00:25:03.200


00:25:03.200 --> 00:25:06.230
- Now, projects in the works
throughout the greater New York

00:25:06.230 --> 00:25:09.260
area aim to be on the cutting
edge of climate change

00:25:09.260 --> 00:25:15.550
adaptation, starting with
barriers to slow storm surge,

00:25:15.550 --> 00:25:20.230
a series of dikes, berms,
and parks, and huge,

00:25:20.230 --> 00:25:23.050
ultra-fortified
developments like this one,

00:25:23.050 --> 00:25:25.440
deliberately built
on the water's edge,

00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:29.140
forming part of a protective U
around lower Manhattan's dense

00:25:29.140 --> 00:25:32.390
population and all-important
financial center.

00:25:32.390 --> 00:25:35.290


00:25:35.290 --> 00:25:39.087
But not all New York's
plans are so monumental.

00:25:39.087 --> 00:25:41.670
- Resiliency will fail if it's
just about building more walls.

00:25:41.670 --> 00:25:45.510
We need to build it into the
city's entire way of thinking

00:25:45.510 --> 00:25:47.880
about how we address threats.

00:25:47.880 --> 00:25:50.850
- So Kate Orff's approach
is right on target.

00:25:50.850 --> 00:25:54.450
An urban landscape architect,
she's all about granular

00:25:54.450 --> 00:25:55.970
resilience...

00:25:55.970 --> 00:25:58.760
- This is the storm
surge just before Sandy.

00:25:58.760 --> 00:26:01.130
- ...basically, building
protection in small,

00:26:01.130 --> 00:26:05.375
local pieces that -- taken
together -- can save the city.

00:26:05.375 --> 00:26:08.680
- How I like to think about
it is layering up systems,

00:26:08.680 --> 00:26:12.550
systems that can absorb
the effects of climate

00:26:12.550 --> 00:26:13.740
change in different ways.

00:26:13.740 --> 00:26:15.180


00:26:15.180 --> 00:26:17.480
- Kate is designing
a living breakwater

00:26:17.480 --> 00:26:21.970
to create a protective necklace
around exposed Staten Island.

00:26:21.970 --> 00:26:25.290
The intention:
slow storm surges.

00:26:25.290 --> 00:26:27.160
- That breakwater
system can be combined

00:26:27.160 --> 00:26:30.110
with onshore strategies,
such as lifting buildings

00:26:30.110 --> 00:26:31.830
up, taking your power
up and putting it

00:26:31.830 --> 00:26:32.705
up on an upper level.

00:26:32.705 --> 00:26:35.980
So the city might flood, but
it won't be catastrophic.

00:26:35.980 --> 00:26:38.730


00:26:38.730 --> 00:26:40.600
- Her secret ingredient?

00:26:40.600 --> 00:26:41.870
Oysters.

00:26:41.870 --> 00:26:44.590
Kate is working with
New York Harbor School

00:26:44.590 --> 00:26:46.920
to grow the oysters
which will eventually

00:26:46.920 --> 00:26:50.470
form reefs to protect the city.

00:26:50.470 --> 00:26:52.760
Oysters are a part
of New York history,

00:26:52.760 --> 00:26:55.170
for centuries forming
desirable barrier

00:26:55.170 --> 00:27:00.582
reefs before too many diners and
too much pollution did them in.

00:27:00.582 --> 00:27:03.310
- The goal by 2030 is to
bring 1 billion oysters back

00:27:03.310 --> 00:27:04.146
to New York Harbor.

00:27:04.146 --> 00:27:05.820


00:27:05.820 --> 00:27:07.900
- We want to begin to
connect people back

00:27:07.900 --> 00:27:09.720
to that environment.

00:27:09.720 --> 00:27:12.600
Oysters can't save New York,
but people can save New York.

00:27:12.600 --> 00:27:14.870
(MUSIC PLAYING
AND CLOCK TICKING)

00:27:14.870 --> 00:27:17.950
- And we do all need saving.

00:27:17.950 --> 00:27:20.480
The world's scientists agree
that the Earth's temperature

00:27:20.480 --> 00:27:21.540
is rising fast.

00:27:21.540 --> 00:27:22.934


00:27:22.934 --> 00:27:24.350
- Overall, we're
up about 1 degree

00:27:24.350 --> 00:27:27.414
Celsius in the last 100
years, plus or minus a bit.

00:27:27.414 --> 00:27:29.080
Now, that might not
sound like too much.

00:27:29.080 --> 00:27:31.850
But you have to remember that
the difference between the Ice

00:27:31.850 --> 00:27:36.170
Age and today is
5 degrees Celsius.

00:27:36.170 --> 00:27:39.550
- So it took 10,000 years
for the Earth's temperature

00:27:39.550 --> 00:27:41.590
to rise 5 degrees.

00:27:41.590 --> 00:27:45.185
But it took only a century
to go up another degree.

00:27:45.185 --> 00:27:48.715
And 3 more degrees are expected
by the turn of this century.

00:27:48.715 --> 00:27:50.510


00:27:50.510 --> 00:27:53.190
That means the oceans
are getting hotter too,

00:27:53.190 --> 00:27:55.400
causing them to expand.

00:27:55.400 --> 00:27:58.430
Add in the melting
icepack, and all that water

00:27:58.430 --> 00:28:00.160
is rising along our coastlines.

00:28:00.160 --> 00:28:02.266
(DUCK QUACKING)

00:28:02.266 --> 00:28:04.580
(MUSIC PLAYING)

00:28:04.580 --> 00:28:06.960
Every community
built along the ocean

00:28:06.960 --> 00:28:09.100
is living on borrowed time.

00:28:09.100 --> 00:28:13.320
But in South Florida, that
time is rapidly running out.

00:28:13.320 --> 00:28:17.170
Barely above sea level and
built on porous limestone,

00:28:17.170 --> 00:28:20.562
South Florida is on the
brink of catastrophe.

00:28:20.562 --> 00:28:22.020
- But when they
built those houses,

00:28:22.020 --> 00:28:23.436
they put them right
on the ground.

00:28:23.436 --> 00:28:26.120
No one ever thought the ocean
would come up and swallow them

00:28:26.120 --> 00:28:26.619
up.

00:28:26.619 --> 00:28:29.190


00:28:29.190 --> 00:28:29.850
But guess what.

00:28:29.850 --> 00:28:33.940


00:28:33.940 --> 00:28:37.250
- Dan Kipnis has lived on
the water his whole life,

00:28:37.250 --> 00:28:39.080
made his living as
a fishing guide.

00:28:39.080 --> 00:28:40.928


00:28:40.928 --> 00:28:42.780
(FISH SPLASHING)

00:28:42.780 --> 00:28:45.640
- It's a spotted seatrout.

00:28:45.640 --> 00:28:47.746
We'll just let him go.

00:28:47.746 --> 00:28:49.520
Go home, baby.

00:28:49.520 --> 00:28:52.195
- He's an eyewitness to what's
happening along the Florida

00:28:52.195 --> 00:28:53.930
coast.

00:28:53.930 --> 00:28:55.690
- In my lifetime, I
watched the barnacles

00:28:55.690 --> 00:28:57.320
go all the way up
the pilings, which

00:28:57.320 --> 00:28:58.580
means the water was going up.

00:28:58.580 --> 00:29:00.510


00:29:00.510 --> 00:29:04.390
- Even if we get greenhouse gas
emissions under control soon,

00:29:04.390 --> 00:29:07.230
the eastern coast of North
America can still expect

00:29:07.230 --> 00:29:11.950
at least a foot and a half
sea level rise by 2050,

00:29:11.950 --> 00:29:15.150
permanently flooding much
of low-lying South Florida.

00:29:15.150 --> 00:29:17.930


00:29:17.930 --> 00:29:20.740
This water flooding
Miami Beach's Main Street

00:29:20.740 --> 00:29:24.990
is from a very high tide
on a calm, sunny day.

00:29:24.990 --> 00:29:27.905
Imagine the destruction if
one of their many hurricanes

00:29:27.905 --> 00:29:31.130
were to hit when the
sea is already so high.

00:29:31.130 --> 00:29:33.470


00:29:33.470 --> 00:29:37.480
Miami Beach politicians are
very aware of the urgency.

00:29:37.480 --> 00:29:39.780
- I don't want to study
global warming rising tides.

00:29:39.780 --> 00:29:41.196
I'm not interested
in studying it.

00:29:41.196 --> 00:29:41.720
It's a fact.

00:29:41.720 --> 00:29:42.480
It's happening.

00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:44.380
So to study it, to me,
is more repetitive.

00:29:44.380 --> 00:29:45.588
It's not where we need to go.

00:29:45.588 --> 00:29:48.090
We need actual actions.

00:29:48.090 --> 00:29:50.740
- Like the $200 million
they're about to spend

00:29:50.740 --> 00:29:51.710
on pumping stations.

00:29:51.710 --> 00:29:53.340


00:29:53.340 --> 00:29:55.950
- 30 years from now,
Miami Beach will

00:29:55.950 --> 00:29:59.110
be a city protected by pumps.

00:29:59.110 --> 00:30:02.310
Many of the roads
will have been raised.

00:30:02.310 --> 00:30:05.370
But it all depends upon how
fast the water comes up.

00:30:05.370 --> 00:30:09.050
It's getting faster and
faster and faster every year.

00:30:09.050 --> 00:30:11.607
When the saltwater comes up too
high, we lose the Everglades.

00:30:11.607 --> 00:30:13.940
When we lose the Everglades,
we lose our drinking water.

00:30:13.940 --> 00:30:15.680
Because all of our drinking
water is in the aquifer

00:30:15.680 --> 00:30:16.638
that is the Everglades.

00:30:16.638 --> 00:30:18.840
(PELICANS GRUNTING)

00:30:18.840 --> 00:30:20.790
(MUSIC PLAYING)

00:30:20.790 --> 00:30:23.960
- Towns are already
losing their fresh water.

00:30:23.960 --> 00:30:27.720
Nearby Hallandale has lost six
of their eight drinking water

00:30:27.720 --> 00:30:28.980
wells.

00:30:28.980 --> 00:30:31.500
Yet condos are still going up.

00:30:31.500 --> 00:30:35.370
And tourists are still coming,
mostly oblivious to the fact

00:30:35.370 --> 00:30:37.750
that the sand under their
towels is rapidly vanishing.

00:30:37.750 --> 00:30:41.110
(MUSIC PLAYING)

00:30:41.110 --> 00:30:42.933


00:30:42.933 --> 00:30:45.980
Rising seas keep washing
the beaches away.

00:30:45.980 --> 00:30:48.310


00:30:48.310 --> 00:30:51.900
And the Army Corps of Engineers
keeps pumping in more sand

00:30:51.900 --> 00:30:56.410
to replace them, possibly
a little like throwing

00:30:56.410 --> 00:30:58.740
dollar bills into the ocean.

00:30:58.740 --> 00:31:00.490
- We get that all the
time, because people

00:31:00.490 --> 00:31:02.360
watch our projects wash away.

00:31:02.360 --> 00:31:04.820
But what they don't realize is
that without these projects,

00:31:04.820 --> 00:31:07.920
the roads and the houses
would be washing away.

00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:10.620
- But sand supplies
won't last forever.

00:31:10.620 --> 00:31:14.752
And it's washing away
faster and faster.

00:31:14.752 --> 00:31:18.030
Still, it's hard to face
the fact that paradise

00:31:18.030 --> 00:31:19.386
could be truly lost.

00:31:19.386 --> 00:31:21.646


00:31:21.646 --> 00:31:23.035
- I've got my life
in this place.

00:31:23.035 --> 00:31:24.210
It's incredible.

00:31:24.210 --> 00:31:25.300
I live in a paradise.

00:31:25.300 --> 00:31:27.634
What does it cost to
get me out of here?

00:31:27.634 --> 00:31:29.300
I'll take my equity
and leave, because I

00:31:29.300 --> 00:31:30.420
can't fix this problem.

00:31:30.420 --> 00:31:31.610
I cannot fix this problem.

00:31:31.610 --> 00:31:34.120
Nobody can fix this
problem in South Florida.

00:31:34.120 --> 00:31:35.020
Pessimistic?

00:31:35.020 --> 00:31:35.520
No.

00:31:35.520 --> 00:31:37.090
Realistic, realistic.

00:31:37.090 --> 00:31:39.320


00:31:39.320 --> 00:31:42.840
- Communities in South
Florida will have to retreat.

00:31:42.840 --> 00:31:45.825
The question is, will it
be relatively graceful

00:31:45.825 --> 00:31:48.330
or totally chaotic?

00:31:48.330 --> 00:31:50.580
- Are you going to duck
the bullet that's coming?

00:31:50.580 --> 00:31:51.250
All right?

00:31:51.250 --> 00:31:52.286
Or are you going to
stand there and let it

00:31:52.286 --> 00:31:53.510
hit you right in the forehead?

00:31:53.510 --> 00:31:54.343
I think I'm ducking.

00:31:54.343 --> 00:31:56.810


00:31:56.810 --> 00:32:00.070
- Since there's no way of
avoiding sea level rise,

00:32:00.070 --> 00:32:04.170
what about rising above it --
or at least rising with it?

00:32:04.170 --> 00:32:05.550
- It can be a floating harbor.

00:32:05.550 --> 00:32:06.790
It can be floating parking.

00:32:06.790 --> 00:32:10.450
It can be floating
offices, floating green.

00:32:10.450 --> 00:32:12.660
- When there's water,
water everywhere,

00:32:12.660 --> 00:32:13.840
who are you going to call?

00:32:13.840 --> 00:32:15.280
The Dutch, of course.

00:32:15.280 --> 00:32:19.726


00:32:19.726 --> 00:32:23.180
(MUSIC PLAYING)

00:32:23.180 --> 00:32:23.680


00:32:23.680 --> 00:32:28.620
In the Netherlands, 20% of the
land and 60% of the population

00:32:28.620 --> 00:32:30.660
is below sea level.

00:32:30.660 --> 00:32:33.640
As if that wasn't enough,
many of Europe's rivers

00:32:33.640 --> 00:32:36.210
drain through this tiny country.

00:32:36.210 --> 00:32:40.160
No surprise, the Dutch are
without doubt the world experts

00:32:40.160 --> 00:32:41.800
at living with water.

00:32:41.800 --> 00:32:46.640
- You have chosen a very
good day to make these shots.

00:32:46.640 --> 00:32:48.450
The climate is changing.

00:32:48.450 --> 00:32:51.080
What we want to show here
is that floating communities

00:32:51.080 --> 00:32:52.440
is a future for this city.

00:32:52.440 --> 00:32:55.230


00:32:55.230 --> 00:32:58.620
- Rotterdam is 90%
below sea level,

00:32:58.620 --> 00:33:02.100
so flooding is always
an imminent threat.

00:33:02.100 --> 00:33:04.960
There's no wiggle room for a
storm surge, or even rainwater.

00:33:04.960 --> 00:33:06.830


00:33:06.830 --> 00:33:09.700
- This is a water plaza, and
it's collecting the rainfall

00:33:09.700 --> 00:33:13.140
from all the buildings in
the surrounding of this area.

00:33:13.140 --> 00:33:17.320
When it keeps raining like
this, and even more heavier,

00:33:17.320 --> 00:33:19.520
then this will be
filled up slowly.

00:33:19.520 --> 00:33:21.800


00:33:21.800 --> 00:33:24.890
- The Dutch have a well-stocked
tool kit for dealing with

00:33:24.890 --> 00:33:26.644
water.

00:33:26.644 --> 00:33:28.310
- We not only developed
the technologies

00:33:28.310 --> 00:33:30.920
but we live in our own
lab, in our own living

00:33:30.920 --> 00:33:32.550
lab below sea level.

00:33:32.550 --> 00:33:35.170


00:33:35.170 --> 00:33:38.990
- Piet Dircke is with a Dutch
engineering and design firm

00:33:38.990 --> 00:33:42.560
exporting water management
expertise worldwide.

00:33:42.560 --> 00:33:44.086
- Let's have lunch.

00:33:44.086 --> 00:33:46.280
- OK.

00:33:46.280 --> 00:33:50.140
How can you protect
cities and people

00:33:50.140 --> 00:33:52.860
against the impacts
of climate change,

00:33:52.860 --> 00:33:54.825
against flooding,
or against droughts?

00:33:54.825 --> 00:33:57.920


00:33:57.920 --> 00:34:02.449
- Sometimes the protective
measures must be giant-sized.

00:34:02.449 --> 00:34:03.990
- So what we're
looking at right here

00:34:03.990 --> 00:34:08.100
is the Maeslantkering,
or maybe more in better

00:34:08.100 --> 00:34:11.340
English, the Rotterdam
storm surge barrier.

00:34:11.340 --> 00:34:14.730
- Built on one of the busiest
shipping channels in the world,

00:34:14.730 --> 00:34:19.730
the barrier is only used
when a big storm threatens.

00:34:19.730 --> 00:34:24.010
Then two long steel arms, each
almost the size of the Eiffel

00:34:24.010 --> 00:34:28.020
Tower, close together and
drop down to the sea floor,

00:34:28.020 --> 00:34:30.850
interrupting the storm surge.

00:34:30.850 --> 00:34:35.070
It was last used in 2007 in
anticipation of heavy North Sea

00:34:35.070 --> 00:34:38.239
flooding caused by a cyclone.

00:34:38.239 --> 00:34:41.469
- It resulted in no flooding
at all, while in almost all

00:34:41.469 --> 00:34:43.860
our neighbor countries there
were significant problems

00:34:43.860 --> 00:34:44.940
with the flood.

00:34:44.940 --> 00:34:48.489
So we were pretty
happy with the result.

00:34:48.489 --> 00:34:52.340
- But engineering doesn't
always stand the test of time.

00:34:52.340 --> 00:34:55.170
Historically, the Dutch
reclaimed land by building

00:34:55.170 --> 00:34:56.679
dikes to hold back the water.

00:34:56.679 --> 00:34:58.850


00:34:58.850 --> 00:35:02.060
But major flood evacuations
in the mid 1990s

00:35:02.060 --> 00:35:05.620
sparked a radical
change of direction.

00:35:05.620 --> 00:35:07.760
- By relocating
the dikes inland,

00:35:07.760 --> 00:35:10.680
the floodplains
will become broader.

00:35:10.680 --> 00:35:13.170
- The new government
program is actually

00:35:13.170 --> 00:35:15.330
ripping down some dikes.

00:35:15.330 --> 00:35:18.080
Throughout Holland, they'll
protect 4 million people

00:35:18.080 --> 00:35:20.400
by allowing planned flooding.

00:35:20.400 --> 00:35:23.036
They call it "Room
for the River."

00:35:23.036 --> 00:35:25.380


00:35:25.380 --> 00:35:29.460
In this farm area, they moved
barns and houses up onto mounds

00:35:29.460 --> 00:35:31.580
so flood water can
flow into the fields

00:35:31.580 --> 00:35:35.495
as needed to prevent
damage upstream.

00:35:35.495 --> 00:35:36.370
- The family is safe.

00:35:36.370 --> 00:35:37.200
The cows are safe.

00:35:37.200 --> 00:35:38.230
The barn is safe.

00:35:38.230 --> 00:35:39.240
Just let the water come.

00:35:39.240 --> 00:35:43.050


00:35:43.050 --> 00:35:46.520
- There are now 34 Room
for the River projects,

00:35:46.520 --> 00:35:49.590
many in urban areas like
Nijmegen, the oldest

00:35:49.590 --> 00:35:51.740
city in the Netherlands,
where whole neighborhoods

00:35:51.740 --> 00:35:54.300
were expropriated.

00:35:54.300 --> 00:35:58.640
Drastic times call for
drastic measures --

00:35:58.640 --> 00:36:02.130
and very creative ones.

00:36:02.130 --> 00:36:05.090
- You find flexibility on water
which you can't find on land,

00:36:05.090 --> 00:36:05.690
and safe.

00:36:05.690 --> 00:36:11.050
If there's a flood, we can go
up and down with the water.

00:36:11.050 --> 00:36:15.680
- Architect Koen Olthuis is
designing a new water world.

00:36:15.680 --> 00:36:16.910
His nickname?

00:36:16.910 --> 00:36:18.865
"The Floating Dutchman."

00:36:18.865 --> 00:36:20.115
- It can be a floating harbor.

00:36:20.115 --> 00:36:21.640
It can be floating parking.

00:36:21.640 --> 00:36:24.050
It can be floating
offices, floating green.

00:36:24.050 --> 00:36:26.020
Everything a city needs,
you put on the water.

00:36:26.020 --> 00:36:28.390


00:36:28.390 --> 00:36:32.150
- Just outside Rotterdam, Koen
has designed a floating housing

00:36:32.150 --> 00:36:35.200
complex for an area scheduled
to be flooded next year.

00:36:35.200 --> 00:36:37.110


00:36:37.110 --> 00:36:40.510
But many of his clients
are in places like Dubai,

00:36:40.510 --> 00:36:43.980
the Maldives, and Miami.

00:36:43.980 --> 00:36:46.200
- You don't know what will
happen in 10 years, in 20

00:36:46.200 --> 00:36:47.160
years, or 50 years.

00:36:47.160 --> 00:36:49.274
So you'd better be
prepared and be flexible

00:36:49.274 --> 00:36:50.440
instead of only fighting it.

00:36:50.440 --> 00:36:52.030


00:36:52.030 --> 00:36:54.540
- Many of Koen's
designs aren't exactly

00:36:54.540 --> 00:36:56.810
affordable for the
average person.

00:36:56.810 --> 00:36:59.430
But he's working on plans at
the other end of the scale,

00:36:59.430 --> 00:37:02.850
too, like this floating
classroom already

00:37:02.850 --> 00:37:08.000
in use in Manila and coming
soon to Uganda and Bangladesh.

00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:10.610
- The rich pay for technology,
and the poor can use it.

00:37:10.610 --> 00:37:12.830
(MUSIC PLAYING)

00:37:12.830 --> 00:37:15.620
- For much of the world,
most of the attention right

00:37:15.620 --> 00:37:17.480
now is on flooding.

00:37:17.480 --> 00:37:21.755
But weather gone wild brings
not only wet weather, but dry.

00:37:21.755 --> 00:37:26.970


00:37:26.970 --> 00:37:30.150
(MUSIC PLAYING)

00:37:30.150 --> 00:37:30.650


00:37:30.650 --> 00:37:34.870
As the world warms, Canada
will reap some benefit.

00:37:34.870 --> 00:37:36.660
- Corn is starting
to make its way up

00:37:36.660 --> 00:37:39.160
into this country,
which never used to be.

00:37:39.160 --> 00:37:40.840
If it continues
on the rate it is,

00:37:40.840 --> 00:37:43.250
we will be growing more
crops that we never, ever

00:37:43.250 --> 00:37:44.660
could consider.

00:37:44.660 --> 00:37:48.090
- Smart farmers are
adapting -- rapidly.

00:37:48.090 --> 00:37:51.550
- We concentrate on being
flexible with the way we seed,

00:37:51.550 --> 00:37:55.600
the way we fertilize,
and the choices of crops

00:37:55.600 --> 00:37:57.570
we make each year.

00:37:57.570 --> 00:38:01.010
- And on the Canadian Prairies,
they know wet weather one year

00:38:01.010 --> 00:38:03.926
doesn't mean there won't
be drought the next.

00:38:03.926 --> 00:38:07.660
- We had a huge
drought in '99 to 2005.

00:38:07.660 --> 00:38:09.790
The costs of that were
actually much larger

00:38:09.790 --> 00:38:11.590
than the cost of
the Calgary flood.

00:38:11.590 --> 00:38:13.610
But it was spread out
over a large number

00:38:13.610 --> 00:38:16.320
of people, a large area,
and over several years.

00:38:16.320 --> 00:38:18.030
Those droughts will
happen more often.

00:38:18.030 --> 00:38:20.590


00:38:20.590 --> 00:38:23.470
- In 35 years,
across our prairies

00:38:23.470 --> 00:38:27.960
we can expect 50% less
snowpack over the winter, which

00:38:27.960 --> 00:38:30.400
means less slow
release of moisture

00:38:30.400 --> 00:38:32.420
throughout the growing season.

00:38:32.420 --> 00:38:35.300
Major droughts will
be part of our future.

00:38:35.300 --> 00:38:40.320
- We pay pretty close attention
to a drought anywhere.

00:38:40.320 --> 00:38:42.350
- Western Canadian
farmers don't have

00:38:42.350 --> 00:38:46.751
to look far to see the
effects of extreme drought.

00:38:46.751 --> 00:38:49.186
(MUSIC PLAYING)

00:38:49.186 --> 00:38:51.134
(SIRENS)

00:38:51.134 --> 00:38:52.595
(FIRE TRUCK HORN)

00:38:52.595 --> 00:38:54.056


00:38:54.056 --> 00:38:55.260
(BIRD SINGING)

00:38:55.260 --> 00:39:00.160
In California, 2013 was
the driest year on record.

00:39:00.160 --> 00:39:04.170
That is, until 2014 came along.

00:39:04.170 --> 00:39:07.980
By summer's end, 60% of the
state was enduring "exceptional

00:39:07.980 --> 00:39:10.086
drought" -- the worst
possible rating.

00:39:10.086 --> 00:39:12.480


00:39:12.480 --> 00:39:14.720
Ranchers feel it
first, since they

00:39:14.720 --> 00:39:18.650
often don't irrigate but wait
for rain to water grazing land.

00:39:18.650 --> 00:39:23.150
No rain means livestock
must be sold off.

00:39:23.150 --> 00:39:26.360
- At my home ranch, we had
to sell over 60% of the cows

00:39:26.360 --> 00:39:28.980
this year to make it work.

00:39:28.980 --> 00:39:32.530
- This range land is actually
a huge research facility where

00:39:32.530 --> 00:39:35.880
the University of California
works with ranchers on drought

00:39:35.880 --> 00:39:41.770
adaptation -- which grasses to
plant for drought resistance,

00:39:41.770 --> 00:39:45.710
high rotation grazing so
the grass stays healthier,

00:39:45.710 --> 00:39:49.060
and even feeding animals
agricultural byproducts

00:39:49.060 --> 00:39:52.330
otherwise destined for the
landfill, like almond hulls,

00:39:52.330 --> 00:39:54.140
rice bran, rice straw.

00:39:54.140 --> 00:39:55.700


00:39:55.700 --> 00:39:57.591
- Adaptation, it's what we do.

00:39:57.591 --> 00:39:59.340
And if you don't adapt,
you don't make it.

00:39:59.340 --> 00:40:01.135


00:40:01.135 --> 00:40:04.010
- For urban Canadians,
the price of produce

00:40:04.010 --> 00:40:06.900
is the immediate impact
of drought in California

00:40:06.900 --> 00:40:09.400
and sea level rise in Florida.

00:40:09.400 --> 00:40:13.280
But we'll soon be grappling
with much bigger issues.

00:40:13.280 --> 00:40:15.640
Forget about the
price of oranges.

00:40:15.640 --> 00:40:17.520
What about the millions
around the world

00:40:17.520 --> 00:40:20.484
who won't have anything to eat?

00:40:20.484 --> 00:40:22.790
- You think Miami
Beach has a problem?

00:40:22.790 --> 00:40:26.780
Bangladesh, they've
got 60 million people

00:40:26.780 --> 00:40:29.190
sitting in deltas that are
going to go under water.

00:40:29.190 --> 00:40:31.060
All their rice fields
are going under water,

00:40:31.060 --> 00:40:34.080
where they get everything
that they need to live,

00:40:34.080 --> 00:40:36.090
will be under water
in Bangladesh.

00:40:36.090 --> 00:40:38.860
Now, what are we
going to do there?

00:40:38.860 --> 00:40:42.970
- The situation is dire for
much of the developing world.

00:40:42.970 --> 00:40:43.900
- They can't adapt.

00:40:43.900 --> 00:40:45.520
They have no resources to adapt.

00:40:45.520 --> 00:40:47.430
And they can't reduce
their emissions

00:40:47.430 --> 00:40:49.980
because they're already
trivial, anyway.

00:40:49.980 --> 00:40:53.754
So where's our social
sense of justice?

00:40:53.754 --> 00:40:55.950
Anyway, I'm getting emotional.

00:40:55.950 --> 00:40:57.390
Shouldn't do that.

00:40:57.390 --> 00:40:59.980
I'm a scientist, right?

00:40:59.980 --> 00:41:03.770
- There are enormous challenges
ahead as we figure out how

00:41:03.770 --> 00:41:06.900
to accommodate the climate
refugees of the not-so-distant

00:41:06.900 --> 00:41:12.571
future, and deal with the
inevitable political unrest.

00:41:12.571 --> 00:41:15.070
- We shouldn't sit here naively
in Canada thinking that with

00:41:15.070 --> 00:41:19.720
all these resources and only
33 million people filling it,

00:41:19.720 --> 00:41:22.470
that we're going to exist
as some sort of ideal little

00:41:22.470 --> 00:41:23.970
island in the middle
of the world --

00:41:23.970 --> 00:41:26.990
that other people who are being
displaced through significant

00:41:26.990 --> 00:41:30.320
negative effects, that they're
not going to turn to us

00:41:30.320 --> 00:41:32.714
and expect to take
some of what we have.

00:41:32.714 --> 00:41:34.502
(THUNDER)

00:41:34.502 --> 00:41:35.400


00:41:35.400 --> 00:41:38.390
- If there's a silver lining
in all this wild weather,

00:41:38.390 --> 00:41:41.260
it might be that it's
pushing us to finally face

00:41:41.260 --> 00:41:44.149
the reality of climate change.

00:41:44.149 --> 00:41:45.690
- Are we going to
have a team, or...?

00:41:45.690 --> 00:41:46.880
- Where's my... here it is.

00:41:46.880 --> 00:41:49.790
- For my kids, one of the
key points I worry about

00:41:49.790 --> 00:41:52.069
is in the world
they are inheriting.

00:41:52.069 --> 00:41:53.610
The climate has
changed, is changing,

00:41:53.610 --> 00:41:55.230
and will continue to change.

00:41:55.230 --> 00:41:58.810
We have to get on with
adaptation immediately.

00:41:58.810 --> 00:42:01.770
Every day we don't act
is a day we don't have.

00:42:01.770 --> 00:42:03.570
(THUNDER)

00:42:03.570 --> 00:42:07.170


00:42:07.170 --> 00:42:10.520
(MUSIC PLAYING)

00:42:10.520 --> 00:43:12.235