Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Adaptation
Name
Institution
Adaptation 2
Adaptation
Global warming and climate change exist, and the two have called for a world
attention to reducing their impacts. The Great Eight nations, including U.S., have convened
various global summits where heads of states come to debate how to counter the increased
climate change. Various recommendations have been proposed to counter the effects of
climate change and devise ways in which the change are accommodated. This paper will
discuss the rhetorical questions asked by the author of the journal article.
New Yorker. The targeted audience is the people of New York, who have suffered the effects
of climate change in the city. The article is written by the department of urban planning. This
gives the author authority to address his audience since the department is concerned with
enlightening the urban population about things that affect their everyday life. The date of
publication is January 2013 making it relevant even to date. The city of New York is still
The journal article is titled Adaptation: How can cities be “climate proofed”. The title
articulates the content since it is taking about adapting to climate change in New York and
other cities. This is after Hurricane Sandy that occurred in New York. The author focuses on
how cities can take measures to adapt to weather changes. By climate proofing, the author
means taking measures to prevent adverse weather condition. He uses a Geophysicist, who
narrates about various cities that have become climate proofed after incidences of floods,
storms, and destructive winds. The targeted audience is those living in New York and other
The author uses the title “how can cities be climate proofed” to pose a question to his
audience which entails the American population, as well as the global population. The title
Adaptation 3
puts to task the reader’s mind on what to expect in the article. He takes us back to July 1995
when the effects of climate change were felt in New York. The state was hit by a scorching
heat wave which resulted in the death of seven hundred and thirty-nine people. Hurricane
Sandy swept across New York causing massive damage. The residents who were affected
The article was written when the world is facing adverse changes in weather. The
author uses the Hurricane Sandy catastrophe to enlighten his audience on how to adapt to the
weather changes. The most affected population was the African American population living
in New York. This population mainly comprises of poor and unemployed people. The
The author uses Hurricane Sandy, which occurred in New York to base his argument
on adapting to climate change. He asks questions to gauge the disaster preparedness of the
various government entities to curb or minimize the effects of future disasters. He observes
that some towns and states experience higher carbon emission than others. The end effect is
increased temperatures during the day and low temperatures at night. The water levels in seas
and oceans are also increasing at an alarming rating resulting in tsunamis, and rapid and
the effects of the Sandy catastrophe to the communication network. After the storm, the
residents of New Jersey and New York were unable to communicate with friends and family.
the two states. The concern is how we can use the current generation of mobile phones
featuring the sophisticated smartphones that most of us own? Is It possible to take photos of
weather situations and send them to the responsible departments to take immediate and the
Adaptation 4
necessary action? Residents can also send codes or signals to the disaster preparedness organs
and other responsible bodies alarming them of imminent danger approaching. The author
suggests the need to spend more on research and developments to come up with better
There are several measures to counter disasters as outlined in the article. Klinenberg
uses an expert to present his argument. Klaus Jacob asserts that the only solution to disasters
is adapting to change and being ready for the effects of climate change. Jacob notes that there
is need to implement preventive measures to counter disasters when they strike. To illustrate
his argument, he uses the city of Rotterdam, which had previously experienced flooding,
dams, sea walls and barriers after the 1953 storm. This project was called Delta works.
of its disaster management efforts. This is after that the disastrous Sandy catastrophe of 1995.
One of the measures is creating a strong bond of the community. However, it is not clear if
this effort has been effective in the U.S. The principle behind this is that a cohesive society
will give a helping hand in times of disaster. Professor Nicole Lurie notes that: “There is
much social-science research showing how much people do it in disasters, how much longer
they live, and they have good social networks and connections.” This shows the importance
Klinenberg uses a long sentence structure in his article to describe the disasters and
the outcomes. The article is informative to the audience who want to learn about adapting to
change and creating a cohesive society. He writes that strong social bonds and unity are
essential in the society in times of disaster irrespective of gender, skin color or race.
Neighbors living as a united community can check on one another and will raise the alarm if
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one of them is missing. During a disaster, the community can identify those who highly
The author poses various rhetoric question in the article. Can the society be prepared
enough to deal with disasters such as floods, rising water levels, heat waves and earthquakes?
Can the preparedness help? People can create a social connection to help each other in times
of disasters. Research shows that women create a stronger social connection than men. They
can seek assistance or assist others fast even before the government’s organs jet into the
affected areas. What about men? Can they cry out for help? In times of disaster, anyone can
cry out when faced with a life-threatening situation. Factor such as gender, race and
Jacob asserts that climate proofing requires an intelligent design that function at all
times, with or without disasters. He argues that climate proofing needs to be prioritized just
as the government highly regards the war against terror. Climate proofing, he says, has
become serious, and its consequences have serious effects. Disasters such as heat waves,
hurricanes, and water upsurge are expected in the future and therefore climate proofing
References
Klinenberg, E. (2013). Adaptation: How can cities be "climate-proofed"? The New Yorker,
32-37.