In an October 28th report for The Boston Globe, Ian Prasad Philbrick interviews climate reporter Sabrina Shankman about how climate change is bringing increasing instability to the state’s coastal communities. This isn’t some abstract, future threat—the impacts of rising seas and heavy rainfall are here now.
According to Shankman, “The problem isn’t just the pump station or the levees, it’s the sewer systems. Elsewhere, you can build a sea wall in one place and cause problems in the community next door, so you have to think about the entire region. But all that dynamic planning takes time, and the threat is now.
When you think about levees, you think about New Orleans, not Massachusetts, even though there are levees across the state. With more extreme rainfall from climate change, this aging infrastructure is now at risk, and so are the people who live near them, many of whom are people of color, or have low incomes, or low educational attainment. The impacts of climate change are felt first and worst by the most vulnerable, but it’s going to affect everybody.
Climate change can feel so big that it’s easy to treat it like a tomorrow problem. The Seaport is a great example. Boston chose to build it up even though it knew rising seas would eventually become an issue.”
On a hopeful note, Shankman adds, “Even with the federal rollbacks, there’s a lot happening in Massachusetts. There’s a recognition that it’s not a moment to stop. It’s a moment to do the planning so that once those dollars reappear, the projects are ready to go.”
Shankman’s excellent podcast is a valuable listen.
Image: The Patriot Ledger, July, 2025.