Recovery Galveston - A Warning

The new Recovery Galveston website is now functioning. This is a joint effort of Lee Roane's Galveston.com and Dolph Tillotson's Galveston County Daily News. Potentially this is an excellent resource for the LTCRC, yet I am concerned about the signficant gaps in the information required in order for the LTCRC (and the community) to make informed decisions about our future. I realize that this is early in the process, but given the tight schedule there is little time to waste.

Let me give two examples. Two of the reports posted on the website are as much pitch pieces as information resources. The tourism analysis, by AngelouEconomics (a firm that apparently specializes in helping communities attract high-tech industries), argues in favor of beach renourishment, continued support of events such as the Lone Star Rally, and the need for more state funds to support the traditional tourism industry (in other words, the Parks Board agenda). Interestingly, the report admits that ecotourism represents 7.9% of our visitors (double those that come for conventions and cultural activities), and that the revenues from ecotourism (which the firm seems to have a poor grasp of) amounts to 7.5% of direct spending (triple that from cultural events). However, there is not a single recommendation or mention of existing nature tourism venues (such as the need to quickly restore GISP) or the organizations such as GINTC that are already working in this field. Featherfest is nowhere mentioned in the report (although Dickens, Lonestar Rally, etc. are dealt with in detail). In truth, little that they have assessed or addressed remotely reflects a sustainable tourism sensitivity.

The second report, Texas Rebounds, is a report from the Governor's office that details the damage to various aspects of the Galveston economy and society. Interestingly, the report says little about environmental impacts other than those on the commercial fishery and forestry.

The LTCRC needs to have input from a wide variety of information sources, not only those filtered by city staff. Therefore I am requesting that there be a link to One Galveston so that the the committee can take advantage of the information provided here (such as the links to the various sources of information about sea-level rise).

The new LTCRC website is now available for the public to review. My advice is to keep a very close eye on what is being posted there. Everyone is contributing with the best of intentions, but I also believe that it is better safe than sorry.

Ted Eubanks

New Report Raises Spector of Sea Level Rise

A new report issued by US federal agencies, including the US EPA and the US Geological Survey, estimates that sea levels will rise higher than estimated as recently as 2007. The new report concludes that Florida and Louisiana are the states most vulnerable to sea-level rise, followed by North Carolina and Texas. The report presents three scenarios for sea-level rise by 2100: a rise of about 16 inches, of about 2 feet, and of about 3 feet. The report notes that if sea level should rise more than three feet during the 21st century (the worst-case scenario), "it is likely that some barrier islands in this region will cross a threshold" destabilizing and breaking apart.

Galveston is currently considering how to resurrect itself from the unimaginable destruction of Hurricane Ike (the worst natural disaster, in terms of damage, in Texas history and the third worst in U.S. history). The new Long-Term Community Recovery Committee (LTCRC) has integrated "sustainability" into its considerations, but I wonder if meeting the challenges of sea-level rise is among those issues being considered. To be blunt, how can it be avoided?

Concurrently, the USACE is considering several new development projects on the west end of Galveston Island (in truth, pre-Ike holdovers). The most recent (Marquette) has apparently ignored the impacts of Ike in its resubmission. Not only must the damage wrought by Ike be considered in any new development proposal and permit (how can we add insult to injury as the Bay is still healing?), but the USACE must also consider the impacts of the 2-to-3 foot rise of sea level within the foreseeable future. We can only hope that the new administration, with its clear commitment to new U.S. leadership in meeting the challenges of global warming, will extend this commitment to how its agencies, specifically the USACE, oversee the permitting of proposed coastal developments.

Ted Eubanks


For more information about the impacts of sea-level rise on Galveston Island, read the following:

Final Report - Abrupt Climate Change (US Geological Survey et. al)

EPA Global Warming Website

Living with Geohazards on Galveston Island: A Preliminary Report with Recommendations (Gibeaut, Anderson, and Dellapenna)

Coastal Geomorphic Responses to Sea Level Rise: Galveston Bay, Texas (Leatherman - PDF)

Modeling Future Changes in Barrier-Island Wetlands on Galveston Island, Texas (Gibeaut)

Hurricane Impact Map [prepared] for Galveston City Hall, Galveston, Texas (PC Weather Products, Inc.)

Coastal Erosion, Global Sea-Level Rise, and the Loss of Sand Dune Plant Habitats (Feagan, Sherman, and Grant)

How Will Climate Change Affect Transportation Decisions - The Gulf Coast Study (American Meteorological Association)

Look at Past Sea-Level Rise Points to Troubling Future (Anderson et.al)

Changes in Barrier Island Environments During Sea-Level Rise (PPT by Gibeaut)

National Assessment of Vulnerability to Sea-Level Rise (USGS)

Global Warming Risks for Texas (Environmental Defense Fund)

Summary of Coastal Program Initiatives that Address Sea-Level Rise as a result of Gobal Climate Change [according to this report (Feb 2008] "at this time the Texas Coastal Program does not have sea-level-rise policies or initiatives specific to climate change."]

Florida Tool Box for Coastal Planning

OCEN 400 Environmental Sustainability PPT (beach alternatives)

Beach Preservation and Stratetic Retreat (West Carolina University)

Responding to Global Warming Along The US Coast (USEPA)

Local Population Impacts and Mitigation of Sea Level Rise

The Open Space Opportunity

The subject of "nature deficit disorder" has become de riguer in any meaningful discussion of urban planning. Most clearly enunciated and defined in Richard Louv's Last Child Left in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder, the topic continues to be vigorously debated and the principles promoted (for another take on the subject see Stephen Kellert's Building for Life: Designing and Understanding the Human-Nature Connection). Hurricane Ike's storm surge may have presented Galveston with an unexpected opportunity to now address what has been a chronic deficit related to the connection of our inner city children, particularly those from the poorest families, and the outside world.

A recent article published on the website Children and Nature Network addresses this topic powerfully. The author (Jonah Lehrer) states the following:

Although Olmsted took pains to design parks with a variety of habitats and botanical settings, most urban greenspaces are much less diverse. This is due in part to the "savannah hypothesis," which argues that people prefer wide-open landscapes that resemble the African landscape in which we evolved. Over time, this hypothesis has led to a proliferation of expansive civic lawns, punctuated by a few trees and playing fields. However, these savannah-like parks are actually the least beneficial for the brain.

In a recent paper, Richard Fuller, an ecologist at the University of Queensland, demonstrated that the psychological benefits of green space are closely linked to the diversity of its plant life. When a city park has a larger variety of trees, subjects that spend time in the park score higher on various measures of psychological well-being, at least when compared with less biodiverse parks. "We worry a lot about the effects of urbanization on other species," Fuller says. "But we're also affected by it. That's why it's so important to invest in the spaces that provide us with some relief." When a park is properly designed, it can improve the function of the brain within minutes. As the Berman study demonstrates, just looking at a natural scene can lead to higher scores on tests of attention and memory. While people have searched high and low for ways to improve cognitive performance, from doping themselves with Red Bull to redesigning the layout of offices, it appears that few of these treatments are as effective as simply taking a walk in a natural place.

But where do Galvestonians "walk in a natural place?" If you are relatively affluent, and live on the west end, there are wonderful outdoor resources such as the beaches and Galveston Island State Park. If you live in the central city, the choices are more limited. Inner city park space is lacking, and many of the parks that do exist are poorly designed and managed.

Ike's storm surge, though, now offers the central city an interesting opportunity to develop more urban open spaces and neighborhood "pocket" parks. Most neighborhoods will be left with significant holes or gaps from homes that must be removed (i.e., where the owners lacked the funds to rebuild). Of course there will be an opportunity for significant in-fill development. But what if some of these lots could be developed for inner city parks?

Given the importance of urban open spaces to the viability of neighborhoods and quality of life in a community, Galveston must quickly develop an urban open space strategy by which these central city properties can be better utilized. My vote is for parks.

Ted Eubanks

Ike Impacts on Galveston Bay Oyster Reefs

According to Texas authorities, at least 60% of the oyster reefs in Galveston Bay have been destroyed by the effects of Hurricane Ike. Reefs have been covered by debris and sediment churned up by the storm, and grass and other vegetation scoured from Bolivar now blanket reefs in East Bay. Similar impacts have been reported from coastal Louisiana. Combined, Texas and Louisiana produce 60% of the total domestic oyster supply in the U.S.

Certainly we are all optimistic that the oyster population will recover with time. But what if their situation is further compromised by expanded resort development on the west end of the island? For example, the proposed Marquette project proposes thousands of new homes on the west end, each with boats and their accouterments (canals, marinas, boat houses). Each boat in Galveston Bay will churn up additional sediments that are already suffocating these reefs. The USACE is now considering a request for a comprehensive environmental impact study concerning any additional development on Galveston's west end. To ignore Ike's impacts, I believe, would be unpardonable. Ike is the third most damaging hurricane in American history, and all involved in west end development, particularly the USACE, must recognize that fact.

See more in the Houston Chronicle. Also, read the testimony from the Galveston Bay Foundation at a recent legislative meeting in Galveston addressing these same issues.

Ted Eubanks

The Ike Dike

In the aftermath of Ike there has been talk, once again, about protecting the island with a levee. This surfaced after Carla in 1961 (after which Texas City constructed their levee system), and therefore its return is not surprising. Dr. Bill Merrell (TAMUG) has proposed a series of gates and levees to halt a tidal surge from entering Galveston Bay. Although still in its nascence, this idea has nevertheless already garnered support from local political leaders such as Galveston's mayor and county judge.

The questions concerning this proposal are numerous. What would it cost? Who would pay for it? What would the environmental impacts be related to the hardening of our coast? Would it work? If so, where exactly does this redirected storm surge go? Wired Magazine recently published an article about how the Dutch are preparing for sea level rise. Many of the remedies being proposed for Galveston have been pioneered in the Netherlands, and therefore a review of their program may give us a better sense of how such an approach would impact us.

Implications of Ike

Kris Benson has looked at the implications of land use patterns and socio-economic factors on the island before and after Ike, and is generously sharing that information with One Galveston. The following is a preface to the report. Kris has also provided parcel maps to help visualize the data in his report.

Ted

I'm attaching an analysis I developed in support of the city of Galveston's Long-Term Community Recovery committee's planning efforts.

I started working on this analysis so that I could better understand the implications of land use patterns and socio-economic factors on the island before and after the storm for my work with NOAA's Community-based Restoration Program. I also think the analysis has value for the Gulf of Mexico Alliance's Community Resiliency and Habitat Conservation & Restoration teams.

My appointment to the committee was not explicitly or implicitly related to my professional capacity, but rather to my status as a busybody citizen who regularly attends city meetings and has applied to serve on city committees in the past. While there is a role for NOAA to play in the community's long-term recovery efforts (perhaps through the Gulf Regional Collaboration Team), the editorial position I take in the notes prefacing the analysis is by no means an "official NOAA" position or recommendation to the committee. None of the data has been peer reviewed or quality checked, so it should not be considered a NOAA work product, and it should be clear that it represents my personal opinion and not an official position.

All that said, I still think it is important to get this information out to the committee members and to the broader community for consideration, and quickly, given the time constraints within which the LTCR committee is working. The data presented here is applicable across a variety of issues the committee is considering, and I've tried to highlight the applications most apparent to me in my notes. I look forward to participating in the committee's deliberations as priorities for recovery actions and funding allocations are developed, and hope that the information presented in the attached document provide useful context for those discussions. Feel free to further circulate this as appropriate, and apologies in advance for cross-postings.

Kris Benson

A Burnham Plan for Galveston

The Galveston County Daily News (GCDN) published a guest column on December 30 (2008) in which I proposed that an urban park be created along the seawall. I suggested that automobile traffic be restricted along the seawall (such as between 25th and Stewart Beach) to let the park reconnect the city and its residents to the sea.

As expected, the column generated a flurry of comments and counter-proposals. And, not surprisingly, the article stirred up an, at times, emotional opposition (how will I get to Kroger?). When I first wrote the piece, my thoughts were more along the lines of Daniel Burnham and the 1909 City Plan of Chicago. The Burnham Plan, invested in the physical beautification of the city, established a series of parks and open spaces along the Lake Michigan shore. Apparently the example didn't reach our founding fathers (who, interestingly enough, were faced with rebuilding after the 1900 Storm at approximately the same time). In contrast to Chicago, our "lake shore" has evolved into a highway.

There is another reason for considering such a drastic move beyond the esoteric notion of "beautification." Presently our state and community (GLO and the Parks Board) are funding a multi-million dollar beach replenishment project along the seawall. Some 400,000 to 500,000 cubic yards of beach sand are being hauled from the east end of the island to the beaches fronting the seawall. Yet while the state and city are spending millions of dollars to rebuild the beaches, Galveston still bathes its beaches in polluted runoff from Seawall Boulevard.

Along the seawall there is no storm water retention. With every rain storm water washes pollutants off the road, onto the beach, and into the Gulf. The seawall extends well north of the paved road, and therefore the area being drained is far more expansive than Seawall Boulevard itself.

Is it possible to remake the seawall, remove the traffic, and build an urban park? Wouldn't the removal of the pavement threaten to undermine the seawall itself? I suspect that the same technology being used in green roofs could be modified for a project such as this (an impenetrable layer covering the seawall, overlain with manufactured soil and plants). Interestingly, the present system of drains proved to be a weak link in seawall protection during Ike. Most of the damage to the sidewalk atop the seawall came from storm water undermining the pavement as it rushed through, over, and around the drains.

How would this park help our pollution problem? The park would serve as a buffer, and rainwater, percolating through the soil and plants, would either evaporate or slowly wash, without its pollutants, back to the Gulf. In a way the park would function like the wetlands that border much of the island, allowing runoff to be trapped and cleansed before it drains into the Gulf and bays.

2009 is the Burnham Plan centennial. As Chicago celebrates the occasion, perhaps Galveston can find hope in what can be accomplished with vision, inspiration, and commitment. As Chicago arose from the ashes of a great fire, Galveston can be reborn after a great hurricane. The place to begin is the nexus of the Gulf and the community - the seawall.

Ted Eubanks