Earth911 Podcast: Making Buffalo, New York, a Livable, Equitable Climate Haven

Meet Brendan Mehaffy, Executive Director of the City of Buffalo’s Office of Strategic Planning, who explains how the upstate New York city is preparing for and planning for growth as people seek safer places to live as the climate changes. The advent of climate change spells disaster for many regions, especially in coastal regions and the West, where a long-term drought appears to be developing. But in some regions reaching across the northern U.S., cities are poised for what could be a migration from struggling regions. Buffalo's temperate climate -- 25.18 inches in annual precipitation, part of which falls as 93.4 inches of snowfall, and the annual average high temperature is 71 F and low 26 F -- and 570 foot elevation that insulates it from rising seas makes it an attractive destination during the climate crisis. How will the city manage its growth to preserve the lifestyle and social equity it enjoys today? Brendan shares some details about Buffalo and Erie County are preparing to grow the walkable city, develop local food sources and support green business.A key advantage Buffalo enjoys is that hydro power from Niagara Falls provides an energy surplus today, which has attracted, among other startups, a $298M hydrogen production facility, Plug Power, that will rely on hydro power to refine its hydrogen fuel. It has also reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 36.% compared to 2005 levels and is working to meet the 50% target set by the Paris Accord by 2030. The advent of climate change spells disaster for many regions, especially in coastal regions and the West, where a long-term drought appears to be developing -- which may send migrants towards the Canadian border, where the Great Lakes are seen as a climate haven. As the second-largest city in New York with a population of 278,349 in 2020 and 1.1 million people living in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metro area, part of Buffalo’s challenge is to manage its growth. Learn more about Buffalo and its climate plan at http://www.buffalony.gov/.