In an op-ed published yesterday, Governor Andrew Cuomo says that "extreme weather is the new normal" and that New York needs to "act, not react" to prepare for the events.

Cuomo's article acknlowedges climate change, and touches on the human activities that are exacerbating it. He writes that the state needs to be smarter about where it locates power infrastructure, that way it avoids storm damage. He also writes that New Yorkers need to reduce their energy consumption, which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Otherwise, Cuomo stuck to what needs to be done to prepare for future storms. Mostly, that means infrastructure improvements and better infrastructure planning. New York needs to do this; damages from Superstorm Sandy are estimated at $30 billion.

Cuomo's forming three committees to examine the problems and make recommendations. But because any changes are likely to be complex and expensive, I'm skeptical that any but the easiest changes will happen.