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SOUTHFIELD—Historic flooding in southeastern Michigan draws breathless news coverage. Solving urban flooding problems draws a serious, motivated crowd.
Those people gathered Friday at Lawrence Technological University for the Regional Stormwater Summit, an event the university hosts with the nonprofit group Pure Oakland Water and the office of Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner Jim Nash.
About 220 people attended, second highest in the event’s 10-year history, and a return to pre-pandemic attendance levels. LTU President Tarek M. Sobh provided remarks, as did Michigan State Sen. Rosemary Bayer (D-Beverly Hills). Oakland County Commissioner Gwen Markham (D-Novi) and Oakland County Environmental and Sustainability Officer Erin Quetell also attended.
The program began with Shavion Scott, managing director for urban resilience at the Center for Neighborhood Technology, a Chicago economic development and natural resources management nonprofit. She described programs CNT has developed to analyze flood-prone areas, and prevent future flooding with green infrastructure, including tools that show the advantages of green infrastructure over conventional stormwater management practices. The group also offers community organizing and networking opportunities to engage and educate community members, to encourage them to participate in environmental management.
Scott also urged attendees to “remember their why,” the motivations and inspirations behind their careers.
The day closed with a presentation on the scientific data of global warming from Paul Gross, meteorologist emeritus at WDIV-TV Channel 4 in Detroit. Gross noted that scientists began predicting that burning fossil fuels would warm the Earth nearly 200 years ago, and that warming is now reflected in the measurements of thermometers around the globe. Earlier warming periods mentioned by climate change skeptics, he said, were caused by natural phenomena such as the eccentricity of Earth’s orbit around the sun and the wobbling of its axis. “None of those things are happening today,” Gross said–adding that industrial civilization has done a lot of good things for mankind, “but a byproduct of that is a warming planet.” More than 99 percent of published climate scientists now agree, he added.
Carbon dioxide levels in Earth’s atmosphere are the highest in 2 million years, with concentrations of methane and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere also up sharply in the industrial age. The 10 hottest years in Earth’s recorded history have all happened since 2010, and sea level is up an unprecedented 6 inches in the last century.
In terms of local impacts, Gross said ice cover on the Great Lakes has declined to an average of 40 percent in the winter from 63 percent in 1930. That means more lake effect snow. Growing seasons are longer–not necessarily a good thing, as false early springs can produce early blooms that are killed by later frosts, as happened to Michigan’s cherry crop a few years back. Fewer cold nights in winter mean more insect pests in the summers. Overall, higher temperatures also mean “heavier downpours and more of them,” Gross said, indicating the need for better stormwater management.
“Quite simply, we have put the atmosphere on steroids,” Gross said. “More moisture in the atmosphere means storms have more water to create rain and snow events, and more tornado outbreaks.”
Rather than radical changes, Gross said society needs to use a phrase made familiar during the pandemic–flatten the curve of global warming.
In between those presentations, attendees learned about programs for stormwater management available from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, flood management on rivers in Maryland, improving the economic and environmental sustainability of harbors, and implementation of an incentive program for individual homeowners’ rain gardens in Oakland County. Called RainSmart, the program provides rebates for installation of rain gardens, rain barrels, and trees to filter and temporarily store the water to prevent problems like flooding or pollution. Homeowners in 14 Oakland County communities–Berkley, Beverly Hills, Birmingham, Clawson, Ferndale, Hazel Park, Huntington Woods, Madison Heights, Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge, Royal Oak, Royal Oak Township, Southfield, and Troy–are eligible as part of the George W. Kuhn Drain district.
Said one of the conference’s founders, Don Carpenter, professor of practice in civil engineering at LTU and principal at the environmental engineering firm Drummond Carpenter PLLC: “This is always one of my favorite days of the year. It’s a chance to reconnect with old friends, colleagues, and former students. We were particularly pleased with the speaker lineup this year, who provided critical information while also being very enthusiastic about the topic.”
And Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner Jim Nash said: “This was another terrific opportunity for local governments to get together and talk about how we can address climate change in the long term. We discussed community involvement, legislation, specific projects, and Oakland County’s new green infrastructure rebate program for residential properties in the George W. Kuhn communities.”
Lawrence Technological University is one of only 13 private, technological, comprehensive doctoral universities in the United States. Located in Southfield, Mich., LTU was founded in 1932 and offers more than 100 programs through its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Business and Information Technology, Engineering, and Health Sciences, as well as Specs@LTU as part of its growing Center for Professional Development. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation’s top 11 percent of universities for alumni salaries. Forbes and The Wall Street Journal rank LTU among the nation’s top 10 percent. U.S. News and World Report list it in the top tier of the best Midwest colleges. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 107-acre campus include more than 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.
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