what we know is that climate change is literally happening as we speak and even in a best case scenario (spoiler alert: were not going to hit a best case scenario), we're locked in for 1.5C of warming which is going to have massive global impacts as it is. likely we're going to warm more if we dont implement some big time changes NOW (spoiler alert: we cant even pass a common sense piece of climate legislation to accelerate our transition to renewables). we're F'd.
so while we may not have ocean rise, we are going to have extreme weather events. generally, its understood our region is going to be wetter and its going to get deluged in big rain events (warmer air can hold more moisture) more frequently. deep tunnel isnt going to save us from these kinds of problems. we also have expansive clay soils that a lot of our older homes are built on, and these are expensive problems to address/fix which a lot of our city residents cannot afford. we also know that the Chicago region is predicted to have the climate of Texas by mid century on the trajectory we're headed on. to think we're just going to ride out the worst of it while sipping cocktails is some extreme hubris and ignores the real ways our region is going to suffer along with everyone else. the consequences this has for crops/vegetation/invasives/human health/pollution is catastrophic.
theres nothing "good" thats going to come from this. and if you think social unrest/supply chain failures are bad now...
