Within the past decade, New Jersey has experienced its wettest and warmest years in over
a century of observations.  Extreme weather/climate events, including Ida, Sandy, Irene,
and a number of hot summers, suggest that something is happening to NJ’s climate
regime. Natural variations alone cannot account for these NJ (and global) anomalies.
Human influences on climate are significant, prompting discussion as to how society
might mitigate or develop greater resiliency to increasing climate change. This
presentation will explore the physical dimensions of the issue, both short and long term.
Special emphasis will be on flooding issues, both from water flowing downstream
associated with heavy rainfall and upstream resulting from coastal storm surges.     

Dr. David Robinson is a Distinguished Professor of Geography at Rutgers University and for the
past 30 years has been New Jersey’s State Climatologist. He is a frequent speaker on issues
pertaining to New Jersey’s weather and climate and is a contributor to the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change and to US National Climate Assessments. Dave has been a member of
the National Academy of Sciences’ Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, is past
president of the American Association of State Climatologists, has received the Lifetime
Achievement award of the American Association of Geographers, and is a Fellow of the
American Meteorological Society.