[twister244]

While I definitely agree that Chicago will have its fair share of climate change issues to deal with, to suggest our challenges are anywhere close to NY/Miami/NOLA/Houston is comical.

Chicago most definitely needs to invest in more infrastructure to handle more extreme storm runoff. And yes, the city needs to prepare for more violent swings in Lake Michigan.

But..... Lake Michigan != Atlantic Ocean.

The lake will swing, but there are various competing factors that will influence the water levels to go in any given direction over the course of a year:
- Extreme precipitation that will cause water level rises.
- Extreme drought that will cause water level decreases.
- Warmer climate means more evaporation off the water surface, which would result in water level decreases.

Also keep in mind the Great Lakes are one big hydrological system where water is actually moving from one lake to another, with the eventual outlet at Niagra Falls into the Hudson Bay.

The oceans only have one direction from here on out - Up.

So while Chicago will have to find ways to handle more extreme precipitation, and a more violent lake that may splash up more on given years, coastal cities have a much stepper challenge in front of them.

And if we are going to talk about impacts, you can't ignore the small positive impacts:
- Longer growing seasons and potentially more productive agriculture
- Overall higher average winter temperatures. I say average as violent swings will still occur from arctic air intrusions.