Trump mocks ‘foolish’ proposal to build ‘$200billion sea wall’ around New York

‘Sorry, you’ll just have to get your mops & buckets ready!’ Trump mocks ‘foolish’ proposal to build ‘$200billion sea wall’ around New York to fight climate change because it ‘won’t work’ and will ‘look terrible’

  • Trump likely reacted to a report in The New York Times on Friday 
  • Report details proposals by US Army Corps of Engineers to fight climate change 
  • Corps proposal calls for $119billion ‘surge gate’ which opens and closes 
  • Gate would be built off Rockaways in Queens, miles from Manhattan shoreline 

President Trump on Saturday took to Twitter to mock proposals to build barriers around Manhattan island in order to prevent flooding and storm surge caused by climate change.

‘A massive 200 Billion Dollar Sea Wall, built around New York to protect it from rare storms, is a costly, foolish & environmentally unfriendly idea that, when needed, probably won’t work anyway,’ the president and New York native tweeted on Saturday.

‘It will also look terrible.

‘Sorry, you’ll just have to get your mops & buckets ready!’

President Trump on Saturday took to Twitter to ridicule a proposal to build a ‘sea wall around New York’

‘A massive 200 Billion Dollar Sea Wall, built around New York to protect it from rare storms, is a costly, foolish & environmentally unfriendly idea that, when needed, probably won’t work anyway,’ the president and New York native tweeted on Saturday. ‘It will also look terrible'

‘A massive 200 Billion Dollar Sea Wall, built around New York to protect it from rare storms, is a costly, foolish & environmentally unfriendly idea that, when needed, probably won’t work anyway,’ the president and New York native tweeted on Saturday. ‘It will also look terrible’

The president was likely reacting to a report about a proposal from the US Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps is studying plans designed to lessen the effects of climate change, including a man-made 'surge gate' that can close, preventing storm surge

The president was likely reacting to a report about a proposal from the US Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps is studying plans designed to lessen the effects of climate change, including a man-made ‘surge gate’ that can close, preventing storm surge

The president was most likely reacting on Saturday to a news report in Friday’s New York Times about proposals to protect the coastlines of the metropolitan New York area from the effects of climate change.

The Times report details several proposals made by the US Army Corps of Engineers, which has studied ways to protect American coastlines from rising sea levels.

One of the proposals involves building a ‘surge gate’ – a six-mile-long wall that stretches from the Rockaways in Queens to a strip of land in Sandy Hook, New Jersey.

The structure, which would be built on man-made islands with retractable gates, would shut during major storms on the scale of what the area experienced during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

The gates would be designed to prevent storm surge from threatening the areas that sit along the coastlines of the five boroughs as well as the adjacent land on the edge of the Hudson and East Rivers.

Supporters of the proposal say it is a preferred solution over building barriers along the coastline.

They would rather these major engineering projects be built miles from New York Harbor so that the city is not cut off from its waterfront.

But others say that the proposal will actually cause further environmental damage by trapping sewage and toxins.

New York area residents are divided about the best way to protect the area from rising sea levels and more damaging storms that are expected due to climate change. The above file photo shows New York City

New York area residents are divided about the best way to protect the area from rising sea levels and more damaging storms that are expected due to climate change. The above file photo shows New York City

Opponents also say that the proposed barrier doesn’t address two other climate-related threats – flooding from high tides and storm runoff.

Even if the barrier was built, critics say that the Army Corps of Engineers’ is underestimating future sea levels.

While the Corps anticipates that sea levels will rise 1.8ft by 2100, estimates by New York City suggest that the water could rise by 4.17ft. A worst-case scenario envisions that sea levels could possibly rise by 9ft.

There is also the enormous cost of the proposal – $119billion, and not, as Trump suggested, $200billion.

It would also take 25 years to build.

The Corps said it is just one of five proposals that it is studying.

The other plans involve combinations of smaller sea walls at the mouths of New York waterways as well as shore-based measures. 

The plans being considered are similar to other proposals that have already been implemented in European cities that lie next to bodies of water.

In 2011, the Russian government completed construction of a dam to protect St. Petersburg from floodwaters. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk